


Family

by LandonRichardson



Series: The Danni Saga [2]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Danny Williams is a female in this, F/M, OC who has a part to play, because this saga took on a life of its own, but I love him, but only vaguely, long chapters, vaguely based on the episode Ohana
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:29:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 29,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22959469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LandonRichardson/pseuds/LandonRichardson
Summary: When Steve McGarrett came to Hawaii to avenge his father's death he never expected to make the decision to transfer to the Navy reserves and stay on the island. He especially never expected to be given his own taskforce by the Governor to run as he saw fit. Now, with the life of an ex NSA Agent on the line, Steve has to prove not only his ability to run his team but that his team are here to stay.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Series: The Danni Saga [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/223628
Comments: 21
Kudos: 58





	1. Play nice Commander McGarrett

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the second part of the Danni saga.
> 
> I didn't expect to put this up but a friend has convinced me to add it as it is all written and completed.
> 
> With the news about the show ended, I guess I just wanted to do my part to keep the fandom alive by sharing this piece of work.
> 
> It does feature an OC, mainly because I am using this saga to mend issues I had in the show or random questions I had. One of which was how things would have been different if an active NSA Agent was on the island when everything went down. This story was the result.
> 
> Please enjoy

*********************************************************  
It was dark where he was, dark but familiar as though he had walked the path he was on before though how that could be when he could see no pathway in front of him was a puzzle. Silence had surrounding him but now he could hear a voice calling to him, one which was becoming louder with each step he took.

"Steve… Steve… where are you Champ?"

"Dad?" He called back, his heart aching at the familiar voice.

"Steve… son, where are you?" The voice was sharp as though he was scared. Steve looked around him frowning as the darkness lightened, finally allowing him to see around him. He was standing bare foot in the middle of the North Shore beach. It was night time as far has he could gather, the moon and stars which normally blazed in the sky were missing, confusing him while the darkness pressed down on him, almost smothering him. No one was around him as far as he could see. He was completely and utterly alone. "Steve?"

"Dad?" He called out again, trying to take another step forward only to find himself frozen to the spot. He struggled against invisible holds, looking up as he called out. "Dad, tell me where you are? I can't see you!"

"Champ? Champ everything you need to know is in the box. Look into it and find the truth. I know that you can do it son."

"Dad?" He yelled again, flinching at the familiar sound of a gun going off nearby. He looked frantically around him. "Dad? DAD" Steve screamed. He stumbled forward as though he was suddenly released from his frozen state, falling to his knees. The sand felt cold beneath his palms as he pushed against it, coming back to his feet and began running down the beach, looking around him frantically. "DAD, WHERE ARE YOU?"

His eyes fell on a lump on the sand a few hundred meters in front of him. He stopped, staring at it before he reached towards his waist where he kept his gun only to find that it was missing. He cursed out loud, wondering where the hell his head was that. He never left home without it, regardless of where he was going. The Navy had taught him to always be prepared for everything, if anything they had drummed it in until it was second nature.

He ran up to the dark lump, swallowing hard when he saw that it was a body, he hunched down beside. Reaching out he slowly turned the body over, his breathe leaving his lungs in a whoosh as he found himself confronted with his father's ravaged appearance. A large bloody hole in the middle of his face, destroying his familiar features. Steve stared down at him, bile rising up in his throat as his father's eyelids snapped open, revealing lifeless cloudy eyes before his father's hand came up and gripped his shirt pulling him down towards him.

"Look into it Steve, look into it and find the answers. You must find the answers."

"DAD!"  
****************************************************

Steve McGarrett's eyes snapped open as his body vaulting forward into a kneeling position, the thin sheet tangling with his feet. He looked around him, his eyes moving frantically before he felt the tension in his shoulders ease as he recognised his surroundings.

He was in his father's bedroom, the same one which he had been using since he had come up with the idea of staying in his family home rather than in a hotel like most people in his situation would have.

Steve breathed out slowly, reaching up and running a hand down his face.

It had all been a dream, just another nightmare.

The same nightmare which he had been experiencing for the past week since he had stepped back on Hawaiian soil, the same soil he hadn't seen since he was fifteen years old. The nightmare was never quite the same, it was always slightly different but the underlying message was always clear to him.

His father was dead and nothing which Steve did, either in the dream or in real life, changed that simple fact.

Steve had poured over the reports by the medical examiners in regards to his father's murder, every cut, every bruise, everything which Victor Hesse had done to him before he had taken his life, killing his father in cold blood by shooting him at point blank range in the face, he now knew. Reading the reports was difficult enough without having to read his new partner's Danni Williams, handwritten notes on the side from when she and her old partner Meka Hanamoa were the leads on the case. That was before the Governor of Hawaii had met Steve in person and offered him his own taskforce, one that would have no red tape to hold him back and which had given him immunity. His first order of business had been to take his father's case from Danni and Meka.

Steve had never been a fool and he had known even through his desire for revenge that he needed someone with him who knew how policing worked and he had known the instant he had met Danni that he needed her on his taskforce as his partner and second in command and so he had made it happen. One call to the Governor had been all that was needed to have the younger woman transferred to him, giving her a well-deserved promotion and raise.

They had only been working together officially for eight days but it already felt to him as though they had been in each other's lives forever and that she had always been by his side.

She was a rare find; both intelligent and kind hearted with a streak of wit and generosity which was a mile long. He had noticed as well how attractive she was though he was trying hard to push that realisation down.

There was just something about her that he liked and reacted to, something which made him want to keep her close to him.

He just didn't know what it was yet.

He breathed out, his mind focused on her notes, he wanted to ask her about what she had written and the theories which she had placed down but every time he went to, he had stopped himself. He didn't want to see the look of sympathy and concern which would come to her face at his line of questioning.

The less he thought about what Hesse had done to his father, the better it would be for his overall mental health.

Steve glanced to the side of him, startled by the beeping which he quickly realised was the alarm clock. He reached out, turning it off and sat there for a moment, staring out of the window towards the blue sky which was already promising another scorcher of a day.

Shaking his head Steve twisted on the bed and placed his feet on the cool wooden floorboards, pushing himself to his feet as he ran his hand over his dark hair and moved towards the doorway. He stopped briefly to pull on a pair of swimming trunks from the pile of clothing which he still needed to put away and left the room, making his way through the silent house until he was in the kitchen. He quickly located the key to the backdoor and opened it stepping out onto the lanai.

What he needed was a long swim, something which was as familiar to him as breathing and which had never failed, since he was a young child, to clear his mind. Only then would he be able to focus his full undivided attention on the upcoming day.

The Governor had warned him the previously day that his taskforce had now been officially announced to both HPD and the agencies who had branches situated on the islands. Now cases would begin to come in for them, cases which would arrive quickly and continue if the team did well and proved themselves as capable.

Steve glanced around the deserted beach before he ran lightly down the sand and dived into the water, the shock of the coldness bringing him to his senses quickly as he began to power through the waves.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed before he finally turned reluctantly towards the beach and climbed out of the water. He grabbed the large towel which he had left on one of the chairs and rubbed it over his hair and face before he moved back into the kitchen, dumping the towel on the side and grabbed the kettle instead, filling it with fresh water and placed it back on the hob. He was in desperate need of some coffee to finish off what his swim had started.

He would have to buy himself a coffee machine eventually, mentally adding it to the ever-growing list of things he needed to purchase if he was to turn his old family home into a place where someone could live comfortably in. Nearly everything in there was something which he could remember from his own childhood. He knew that he couldn't live there peacefully if he was constantly surrounded by reminders of everything which he had lost when he had been just fifteen years old.

If he was being honest with himself, he still wasn't sure if living in his father's old home was good for him. The sensible thing to do would be to sell the place, split the money between him and his sister Mary and use his portion to buy himself a place on the island which would be his own and which would have none of the memories attached to it.

The only problem was the fact that he couldn't bring himself to do it.

His family had lived in the same house since his great grandparents, even when his grandfather had died in the attack at Pearl Harbor, his grandmother had chosen to keep the house, renting it out instead of selling it off when she had taken Steve's father and his Uncle Will to the mainland to live. His father when he had returned to Hawaii had moved into the house and stayed there until he was murdered.

It would feel wrong to have someone other than himself or Mary living there.

Not only that but Steve needed the ocean to keep him sane and he highly doubted that he would find somewhere else which would give him unlimited access to it especially considering the price of housing at that moment. Steve could and would put up with the memories if it meant being able to swim each day.

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the counter, his eyes moving critically over the kitchen as he waited for the water to finish boiling.

The room definitely need a hell of a lot of work done on it. There was nothing which didn't look worn or damaged in some way, even the faded paintwork was peeling near the ceiling. If his Aunt ever came to visit him then she would have shrieked with horror at the state of it before she threw Steve out, rolled up her sleeves and got to work to make the place livable for him.

He frowned slightly as he thought about what needed to be done. Renovating the house would be a good project for him to focus on. Something which would help fill his empty evenings and weekends. He would spend the time turning the place back into the happy home he remembered when he was growing up there. The only difference was that this time he could do it as he wanted, getting rid of most of the old stuff and starting anew.

Maybe he could bring Danni with him when he went to the shop to pick up all the materials and paint which he needed. She had mentioned to him a couple of days previously that she had redecorated her home by herself and she had handpicked the colour scheme for their headquarters, picking a shade of blue which all of them had liked. There was no reason why she couldn't use that same talent for his house. She could plan it, pick everything to decorate the place while Steve did the actual work. It would be a win, win situation for him, giving him the chance to spend more time with her outside of work so he could learn more about her.

He blinked when he realised the kettle was whistling at him and turned the flame off, opening a nearby cupboard and grabbed the first mug which he found. He quickly washed it out before putting a spoonful of instant coffee in and added the water in, stirring the hot liquid absently. He glanced once more at the kitchen before dropping the thought from his mind and picked the mug up, heading through the house back up to the bedroom which he had taken for himself. That was another room which would need a lot of work to be done on it.

Steve placed the mug on the bedside table and sighed, rubbing his hand over his tired eyes before he turned and headed into the bathroom. He quickly showered and dressed, grabbing the first thing which he came across from the rucksack he had brought with him. Now that he was staying in Hawaii he would have to contact someone in his old unit and ask for them to pack up the belongings he had left behind and send them out to him.

He ran a hand through his damp hair, grabbing his coffee and taking a sip before he left the bedroom and went into the dining room. Placing his drink back on the table he moved into the old study and grabbed the rusty red tool box, moving back into the dining room and placed it on the table.

He stared at it for a moment, eyes narrowing as they scanned over the familiar sight. There was nothing special about the box and yet his father had clearly thought that it was important enough to spend his last few minutes alive trying to tell Steve about its existence. He had found it as soon as he had come home and had looked at it and its contents many times, more since the Hesse case had come to an end but he still didn't understand what it was exactly he was meant to be looking for.

Steve shook his head, growling slightly in frustration as he reached forward and flipped the tool box open, looking down at the contents again. Contents which still made little sense to him no matter what way he looked at them. The only thing which he had managed to gather from the mix match of items was the fact that his father had been investigating something, just what that something was, was a mystery. There were no notebooks or written notes which would indicate what exactly the investigation was about. Steve saw random photos, a key which didn't fit in any keyhole which were in the house, there were random maps of Japan and Hawaii and god knew what else and none of them, even when they were placed together, made sense.

He knew that the sensible thing would be for him to take a step back from it all and allow Danni and Chin Ho Kelly to take a look at it and see whether they saw something which he didn't. He already knew how talented Danni was at her job while Chin had been his father's partner for fifteen years and had been trained by him. If there was anyone who could look at the contents and see what Steve's father had been doing then it would be Chin.

Between the two of them they would probably be able to point him in the right directions and yet he found himself reluctant to make the call to them about it. His father had hidden the tool box and what he was doing away from everyone which told Steve that he hadn't wanted anyone in his life to know about the contents. There had to be a reason for that and until Steve knew what that reason was, he would keep it to himself. If his father had been looking into something which was potentially dangerous then the last thing he wanted to do was drag his team members into it, especially Danni who was a mother to a young daughter.

Steve reached into the box and took out the Dictaphone, sitting himself in the nearest chair at the table and took a moment to simply stare at it. It had become a ritual for Steve to listen to the tape each morning before he went to work. The first time he had heard the sound of his father's voice, he had cried, finally shedding the tears of grief he had been keeping hidden from everyone. Now he could listen to the tape without crying though he still got a lump in his throat. Licking his lips, Steve pressed down on the play button and leaned back in his chair, allowing his father's words to flow over him.

"When he was five years old, I asked my son Steve what he wanted to be when he grew up. He said 'I want to be a cop Dad like you.' I told him to be anything but that. The life of a cop is not easy. It's not that I'm not proud of the work that I did, but more than anything I have, uh, I have regrets. The toll it took on my family, the way it hurt them. It's, uh, something I think about every day. Now I'm, uh I'm alone here. Losing my wife was almost unbearable. But giving up my kids, that, uh that just broke me. I'm so proud of them, but they'd never know it. I've missed so much of their lives, you know, watching them grow up and all. I guess that's the way it had to be, till I figure this out…"

Steve blinked in confusion when his cell phone suddenly went off. Reaching out he quickly stopped the tape, taking a moment to compose himself before he reached into the pocket of his cargo pants and extracted the phone, hitting the connect button before bringing it to his ear without bothering to look at the screen.

"McGarrett."

"Hey" Danni's voice said causing a slight smile to come to his face. She sounded happy which probably meant she had already had the first of her morning coffees. Steve had made the mistake of calling her before she had one, two days previously and it was an experience he was not willing to go through again unless he really had to.

"Hey yourself Danni" Steve responded.

"I'm just calling to see if you wanted me to pick you up on my way into work today?" She asked him. He could hear her moving around with the faint sound of music in the background which probably meant that she had the radio on and was in the process of getting her daughter ready for the upcoming school day.

"What time were you thinking?" He queried as he reached up and ran his hand over the top of his head, feeling some of the left-over tension from his nightmare easing away at the sound of her voice.

"I would probably be with you about seven thirty, maybe seven forty at the latest." She answered promptly.

"Seven thirty is pretty early for you, normally you don't get into the office until about eight thirty, why the change?" Steve asked curiously.

"Yeah, Duncan and I went to dinner a couple of nights ago to discuss Grace. With both of us having early starts we decided it was best to enrol her into the breakfast club at her school which starts at seven fifteen. The school confirmed it last night that she had a place so today will be the first time she starts it. You live fairly near the school so it should only take me about ten to fifteen minutes to reach you from there unless there is a major holdup in traffic which should be unlikely given the time." She explained

Steve remained silent for a second, his mind drifting over her casual comment about her and her ex-husband having dinner together before he forced himself to focus back on their conversation before Danni picked up on something being wrong.

"You know that I know all of the shortcuts here on the island. If you let me drive Danno when you get here then we won't get caught in any traffic at all. We'd probably set a new world record on getting to the headquarters from my place." He commented, a grin coming to his face when he heard Danni laugh softly down the phone at his comment.

"Nice try." She said, a warm undercurrent to her voice. "But I have a distinct memory of telling you that you were on a ban which was to last up to five months when it came to driving my car. I haven't forgotten a certain reckless stunt you pulled with a police car and a Chinese freighter a week ago."

"That certain reckless stunt wasn't so much reckless as much as it was required unless you wanted to allow Hesse and Etienne to escape to China, knowing that you didn't want that any more than I did should mean that I'm not punished for it. Besides Danni, I would treat your car with all the respect it deserved since it belongs to you. That police car belonged to the state and will be fixed by the state if it hasn't already been done." He pointed out, leaning back in his seat again, still grinning as he tried to remember the last time a simple conversation with someone had made him smile so much.

"That is a good point you raise." Danni replied thoughtfully. "I'll take it into consideration."

"Is there anything else I can do which will help lessen the ban?" Steve queried with a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe, just maybe, if you have a coffee ready for me when I arrive at your house then I can add that into the equation." She said, sounding amused over the line.

"I can make sure that I have a coffee ready for you as long as you don't bitch about the fact its instant coffee due to me not having a coffee machine yet." He remarked.

"Still haven't got that yet? I would have… sorry Steve give me just one moment." She said, her next words sounding muffled as though she had taken the phone away from her ear and covered the hand piece with her palm. "Gracie bean? We're leaving here in ten minutes so make sure you have everything and that you're ready to go… sorry about that Steve" She commented, her voice becoming clear at the end again.

Steve opened his mouth to answer when he closed it with a frown when his cell began to beep insistently at him.

"Danni, hold the line for a moment, I'm getting another call in, it might be work related." He said.

"Sure, I can wait" Danni agreed. Steve nodded even though she couldn't see him and spoke, pressed a second button on the handset and spoke, his voice becoming professional again.

"McGarrett."

"Commander, it's Governor Jameson here. I have a case for you and your team."

"Okay." Steve answered with a raised eyebrow. "What is the case?"

"About thirty minutes ago, a former NSA agent called Roland Lowry was kidnapped from his vehicle. I need you and your team to find him and find him fast. I don't need to tell you of all people how important it is that he is retrieved. The information which he has in his head is of national importance. It could be the reason why he was taken in the first place." She stated.

"Have we got any idea what Lowry was working on for the NSA before they parted ways?" Steve asked.

"No, all of the information is unfortunately classified Commander, I've just finished on a call to the Director of the NSA in Washington and informed him on the situation here. They have a Special Agent who is currently on the island, apparently, he was due to give a lecture to the cadets at the Police Academy. The Director is going to get in contact with him and have him meet you and your team directly at the scene. He has top level clearance and will be able to access their database which should give you access to the information you need to solve this case. Try and place nicely with Commander McGarrett. We want to have the NSA on our side. If we handle this situation carefully and diplomatically then it would work out well for your team. Having an agency as big as the NSA owing you a favour is not a bad thing to have." She stated, a stern tone coming to her voice which caused him to roll his eyes.

"I understand Governor. Where was Lowry taken from?" He queried.

"According to the report he was taken from the Ala Moana Boulevard in Waikiki Commander. HPD have already secured the area for you and are waiting for you and your team to arrive. I've also been informed that Supervisory Special Agent Moore has dispatched a CSU team who are already processing the scene. I suggest that you gather your team together and head down there as soon as possible.

"Understood Governor, we're on our way." Steve answered, eager to be finished with the call.

"Just remember what I said Commander, this situation needs to be dealt with delicately. There is a great deal more at stake here then just the kidnap of a retired NSA Agent" She remarked cryptically before Steve heard a clicking sound indicating that she had ended the call. Steve sighed, pressing the retrieved button on his phone and spoke.

"Danni, are you still there?"

"Yeah I'm still here though I'm about to leave to take Gracie to school. What was the call about? Was it a work one or something personal.?" Danni asked sounding curious over the phone.

"Work related, the Governor's given us a new case. I'll fill you in on the details once you get here."

"I'm still not going to be able to get to yours until seven thirty Steve and it's only ten to seven now. It might be a better idea if you text me the address of the crime scene and I'll meet you there once I've dropped Grace off. That way you can get down to the crime scene and start processing it and seeing what we're dealing with. We can't afford to lose any potential leads or let evidence deteriorate while you wait for me to come for you." She pointed out seriously.

Steve remain silent for a moment, considering what she had said before he nodded slowly.

"That's probably for the best. I'll send you, Chin and Kono the address of the crime scene. I'll meet them both there. Take care of Grace and then meet me there, I'm going to need your eyes at the scene Danno."

"Well that is why you brought me into the team, which reminds me, what did I tell you about calling me Danno Steven?" She asked, a mixture of amusement and frustration causing him to smile, a smile which grew as she continued speaking. "You know what, don't even answer that, I'll see you at the scene in about forty minutes. Try and remember what the proper procedure and please for the sake of my sanity listen to anything Chin tells you. He knows what he is talking about and I don't have time to sooth any ruffled feathers you may cause with the officers or CSU team so please be pleasant to them" She stated on a sigh.

Steve opened his mouth to defend himself when Danni uttered a goodbye which was swiftly followed by the dial tone indicating that his partner had hang up on him without giving him a chance to speak. He shook his head, tossing the Dictaphone back into the tool box and closed it, lifting it and taking it back into the study. He stored it beneath the desk, trying hard to ignored the fact that he was in the room where his own father had died and quickly left it, heading back into the living room. Steve grabbed his guns and his badge, securing them on his person before he reached over to the arm chair and snagged the dark grey shirt which he had thrown over there the night before. Pulling it on, he gave the room one more glance to make sure he had everything which he needed before he left the house, pulling the door to and locking it behind him. The air was warm against his skin as he headed down the driveway towards his new truck which had finally been delivered to him three days previously and climbed into it, adjusting the seat for a moment before he started the engine, smiling at the healthy sound it made.

The truck may not have been as fast or sleek as the car which Danni owned but at least it was his, a sign that for once he was beginning to place roots down in a place. Something he hadn't done since he had been eighteen and moved from his Aunt and Uncle's house into the accommodation at Annapolis.

Pulling out his cell phone from his pocket he quickly sent the address to his three team members with instructions to meet him there as soon as possible. Chucking the handset on the passenger seat he reversed off the driveway and set off towards the crime scene, his thoughts fixed on the who the NSA agent being sent to them would be and what he would be like. Knowing their luck, he or she would probably be a stuck-up dick who would try and take over the investigation and demand that everything was done the way they wanted. Something which Steve already knew he wouldn't allow to happen which would probably mean arguments and Danni playing peacemaker yet again.

He had been driving around twenty minutes before he pulled his truck to the curb and killed the engine. Stepping out, his gaze scanned the scene in front of him, taking in as many details as he could from that first glance. A battered, black SUV was on its roof in the middle of the road, with all its window shattered while another white van stood nearby with all the doors flung wide open. Steve frowned as he moved closer to the yellow tape surround the closed off area. A Medical Examiner was in the middle of the area placing a yellow plastic tarp over the still figure of a man dressed in a suit on the floor.

"Hey, we got your message Brah."

Steve blinked at the voice, glancing over his shoulder in time to see Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua approaching him from his right side.

"Good, thanks for getting here so quickly." He replied with a nod at them both, his mouth curving into a slight smile at the sight of them.

"Where is Danni? Did you not arrive here together?" Kono asked, looking around her with a searching look as though she expected Danni to be standing somewhere near by talking to someone.

"Danni is on her way to the scene but she had to drop Grace off at her breakfast club first. She got the same text as you both did so she knows where she's heading. The three of us can start while we wait for her." Steve answered before moving forward, his gaze flickering to the uniformed police officer standing to attention by the tape. "Governor's taskforce, we'll be taking it from here." He stated to the man. The officer looked down at the badge which Steve flashed at him before he nodded and reached back, lifting the tape so they could slip underneath it. Steve ignored him as he stepped into the scene, his eyes narrowing slightly as he began issuing orders to the team. "Okay Chin and Kono I want you to take the SUV and see what you make of it. I want to build up a clear idea on what happened here. I'll deal with the van, Danni will be working with me when she arrives so if you see her before I do then tell her I want to see her." He stated, looking towards them.

"You've got it boss." Kono answered with a nod, slipping a pair of adhesive gloves from her pocket and pulling them on, her gaze already focused on the SUV with an analytical look which Steve hadn't seen before. He wondered briefly whether the Rookie had gotten the gloves from Danni who seemed to have a never-ending supply of them stashed away in her bag for them all to use. For a moment the image almost made him smile before he forced himself to focus on the case at hand and moved away from his team towards the van in question.

He stopped in front of it, looking at it for a moment before his eyes focused on the tall, dark hair man who was dressed in a navy-blue CSU jumpsuit and working at the rear end of the vehicle. Steve took a step towards him, crossing his arms over his chest before he spoke, raising his voice slightly.

"What have you got here?"

The man looked up, a confused look in his green eyes before they dropped to take in Steve's badge which was attached to his belt. A look of recognition coming to his face which told Steve that the other units had been made aware of their existence, something which would make their lives a great deal easier.

"Nothing of note so far Commander." The man answered him in an Australian accent which told Steve instantly that the man in front of him wasn't a local or a native to the island. "There's no fingerprints or anything like that so the men or women who are involved in this must have used gloves. We're still going over it but once you give the word, we'll have the van and the SUV transported back to the lab so we can go over them both using the equipment there. If they made a mistake then we'll find it." He assured Steve confidently.

"I want to have a look at the van myself before you bring it back to the lab. I'll call you over once I'm done with it, after that it's yours." Steve stated, watching as the man raised an eyebrow at him as though he was surprised by the request before he merely nodded.

"Understood Commander" He said before he leaned forward and banged his gloved hand against the side of the van. "Megan, Commander McGarrett want to have a look at the van, we've got to vacate for now." Steve blinked when a dark-haired woman suddenly struck her head out from inside the van, her light brown eyes flickering towards Steve before she focused her attention on the Australian man instead.

"Yeah sure thing Ben" She said as she climbed out and moved away. Ben gave Steve another nod before he turned away as well and followed his partner towards a small group of CSU agents.

Steve moved around the vehicle slowly, his full attention fixed on it. There was nothing about it which stood out in anyway; no logo on the side of the back to indicate where it had originally come from. The licence plate on it was still attached so they would at least be able to do a search on it though Steve was positive that it would flag up as being stolen. Sighing, he hunched down looking at the floor, his gaze falling on a bullet casing which had fallen beneath the van. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pencil and used the end of it to pick up the casing and examine it closely with a frown on concentration on his face.

This would be something which they would be able to use.

"Hey, what is the situation here? What do we have?"

Steve glanced up at the voice, placing the casing back on the floor as he pushed himself to his feet, his eyes landing on his partner who was standing beside him, staring at him with a questioning look on her face.

"Hey, I didn't expect you to get here so early" He commented, ignoring her question for the time being. Danni shrugged at him, her eyes moving from him to take in the rest of the scene as she answered.

"The traffic on the way to Grace's school was ridiculously light for once and I took a shortcut which Meka had shown me a while back to get here quicker." She explained with a faint smile, no doubt brought on by the mention of her former partner who she had worked with before Steve had taken her for his own taskforce and partner. "What can you tell me about the case?"

"It's a kidnapping" He told her briefly. "The victim's name is Roland Lowry; his car was T-boned an hour ago." He waved a hand towards the totalled black SUV which Chin and Kono were still working on before continuing. "Witnesses from the nearby building stated that they heard gunshots being exchanged and it looks like both passengers in the SUV were killed. All of this happened in broad daylight."

Danni made a sound at the back of her throat as she looked away from him to look at the scene again, a sharp look in her eyes. He wondered briefly what she was thinking and whether there was something about what was in front of them which she saw but he didn't. It had taken him less than a week to know that Danni's brain was wired differently to the way his was. She saw patterns which no one else did and Steve didn't think he had ever come across anyone who was as good at reading people and body language as she was despite having worked with every brand of the armed forces. Having Danni as a partner was like having a human lie detector for one though he noticed that she tended to keep quiet about what she observed. A fact which intrigued him, though he knew that if he questioned her too much or pushed her then she would simply clam up and he would get nothing out of her other than a thoughtful, unreadable look.

"And you say that all of this happened in broad daylight?" She queried thoughtfully, breaking him away from his musing as she looked back at him thoughtfully.

"According to what the Governor told me this all happened at six fifteen this morning." He confirmed with a nod.

"You know there is something about this which just isn't adding up for me." She commented, one hand slicing through the air before she crossed her arms over her chest. "This whole thing seems like a pretty messy grab to me just to yank an ordinary, everyday man from his car. Whoever did this must have known his routines and what he would be driving and where he would be at the exact time he was taken. Which then begs the question on whether this is his actual route, if it is then why did he take this particular road? Was he on his way to work or was he heading somewhere different and if it was somewhere different then what would have been open this early in the morning that he could go to? Why this guy out of everyone on the island? What made him so special that the kidnappers decided that taking him in such a public fashion with witnesses galore was a risk which was worth taking?" She said, the questions flying out fast though Steve had the impression that she didn't expect him to answer and she was merely speaking out loud.

"The guy who they took wasn't just some ordinary, everyday guy Danni. He's an ex NSA agent who used to have top secret clearance which means that his abduction could be a serious threat to national security. The Governor wants us to deal with this in a subtle manner and she wants us to bring him back preferably before he breaks and starts telling the people who took him exactly what they want to hear from him."

"He's an ex NSA Agent?" Danni repeated sounding surprised as she uncrossed her arms and instead reached up with her hand to rub at the back of her neck. "If he is one of theirs then they are going to be all over this. I highly doubt they ever really let one of their employees go without some precautions in place in case something like this happens."

"Apparently they do. They have already been in contact with the Governor and told her that they are sending one of their agents over to assist us with the investigation. He or she happened to be on the island giving a lecture at the academy today." Steve told her, there must have been a tone to his voice because she shot him a quick look before she spoke, lowering her voice so that they wouldn't be overheard even though no one was around them at that moment in time.

"It's not unusual for agencies to send someone to talk to the Academy in the hopes that they will spot a talent and seduce them over to their side of things." She said "Whatever it is that you're planning on doing when they arrive you can forget. You have to play nice with the person Steven. We're going to need all the help we can get on this case especially when it comes to figuring out exactly what he was working on which could have made him a target in the first place." She warned him sternly. "I'm going to head over and speak to Doctor White, the ME before he leaves for the morgue, maybe he can provide me with the name of our two victims and give me some details. I'll also check out the licence plate on the van and see what pops up. It's probably stolen but you never know, maybe we can still strike it lucky with it."

"I doubt we'll have any luck with this case but go ahead, I'll carry on working here." He told her turning his attention back to the van with a frown.

Somehow, he had the feeling that this was only the beginning of a very long day.


	2. Questions at the crime scene

***********************************  
Friday 1st October 2010

Ala Moana Boulevard

Waikiki

Hawaii  
************************************

Steve looked around him, his eyes narrowed in thought as he took in what was happening around him at the bustling scene, paying it little heed as his mind began slotting the pieces of the incomplete puzzle together in his mind.

There was no doubt that what had occurred there had been completely deliberate. Lowry had been taken for a purpose, no doubt over something which he knew or something which required his unique skill set to accomplish. The fact that he had been an agent in the NSA meant that he had plenty of classified information rattling around his head; classified information which some people may have wanted to have for themselves. The question was, which piece of knowledge knowledge or what certain ability which he possessed was the one which the kidnappers wanted him for and how did they find out that he could help them in the first place with it?

Steve reached up and ran his hand through his short dark hair before his eyes focused on his partner. She was talking to the young CSU agent who had been working on the Van earlier, a smile curving her mouth as she listened to whatever it was that he was saying to her. His eyes dropped from her face, taking in her outfit with a reluctant smile, she was wearing knee length, short sleeved red dress which was littered with what appeared to be small black dots in an evenly spaced horizontal pattern while on her feet she wore a pair of black ankle boots which gave her a boost of height which was no doubt why she had chosen them. He liked to think that after eight days of working with her, he was beginning to grasp how her mind worked when it came to the small, unimportant things like the fact that her choosing to wear a dress, even a dress with ankle boots meant that she had dressed that morning under the assumption that today would be a calm day which wouldn't have involved a fight of any kind. An assumption which was incorrect given where they currently were, he wondered briefly how long it would take her to realise that most of their days at work would end up with them involved in a fight of some kind. At least her long blonde hair was caught up in the complicated looking style she tended to favour, the one which he secretly approved of as it kept it completely out of the way and made it almost impossible for anyone to grab it and to use it to their advantage during a fight or to drag her away using it.

She glanced up towards him as though she had felt his gaze and shot him a questioning look which morphed into her rolling her eyes at him when he lifted his hand and beckoned her over to him. She nodded at him, holding up one finger to indicate she would be a moment before she turned back to the CSU agent who was still talking, clearly missing the whole interaction between her and Steve. He watched with a slight frown when she reached out her hand and placed it on the guys arm, halting his conversation so she could say something to him, giving his arm a final pat when he nodded at her with a rueful grin before she turned and headed over to him.

"What have you got?" He asked her as soon as she was in hearing range of him, his eyes dropping for a moment noticing the way the colour of the dress suited her pale skin before he dragged his gaze back up and giving himself a mental shake for noticing a detail like that. The case and the information Danni had was important, not the outfit she had chosen to wear.

"I made a few calls and I've managed to find out a few things which may help us narrow down exactly what happened here." She called back as she dropped her cell phone into her oversized black bag. He noticed her grey eyes moving around them, lingering on certain places before they moved on making him wonder what she was seeing as she looked around her. Was it the same thing which he had been seeing?

"What did you find out from the calls?" He questioned as she came to a stop in front of him, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting impatiently for her to speak, something which she must have caught onto if the half amused, half frustrated expression which briefly crossed her features was any indication for him to go by.

"The vans as you've probably already guessed were stolen from the registered owner around two days ago. The guy they belonged to, Hal Watkins, owns a van rental place nearby to where we are now. According to the police report which he filed with HPD first thing yesterday, he had locked everything up for the night, the same as usual, but when he returned to work the next day, two of his vans were missing. A white one and a dark blue one" She told him.

"That would make sense that it was two missing" Steve commented. "The white one was the one which they used to ram the SUV while the blue one was probably the one which they used to whisk Lowry away from the scene once they had him in their possession."

"That's what I thought as well. They would have known that the vehicle which was used for the initial ramming would have been a write off and I doubt they would have gotten far on foot. Six fifteen is early but its not early enough that there is no people traffic or cars around the place especially considering where we are. Someone would have noticed something and reported it." She stated.

"Several people did" Steve remarked. "What about the van rental place they took them from, do we know whether they had any security there?" Danni nodded at him.

"They do and this is where it gets slightly interesting or slightly concerning depending on whether you are a glass half full or glass half empty sort of person." She said, a sudden amused smile wiping off her thoughtful look as she continued. "I take it that you are a glass is nearly completely empty kind of person." She asked seriously, an underlying teasing tone to her voice which he picked up on.

"I like to think that I'm a realist Danno" He replied with a smile at her. "And what about you and the fact that you chose to wear a pretty dress to work today? Does that small fact make you a hopeless optimist?"

"We are not getting shot at today Steven" Danni responded lifting up her hand and pointing at him, a firm note to her voice which Steve had quietly dubbed as her mom tone. "It's a Friday after all and my plans do not include a visit to the Emergency room to get myself patched up."

Steve opened his mouth to question her about her plans before he stopped himself and instead made himself focus on the case. His interest in what Danni was doing with her evening could wait, regardless of how curious he was about it.

"You said there was something interesting about the vans owner's security?" He prompted, watching as Danni's default thoughtful expression came over her face, telling him that her mind was back into work mode.

"When the HPD Officers spoke to him yesterday, the owner made a point of mentioning to them that he had been robbed a couple of times last year and as a result had invested in a state-of-the-art security system called RADAR. Apparently its meant to be the best of the best which you could get. I haven't heard of it before so I looked into it quickly and from what I've gathered the system is set up in such a way that if someone so much as touches the fencing surrounding the property then the alarm system instantly goes off. An alarm system which is not just linked to the security company informing them of what is happening but is also linked to HPD. However, neither the security company or HPD have any records of anything happening at the Van place two nights ago when the van was stolen."

"Is the owner in on it?" Steve queried with a frown, surprised when Danni shook her head at him.

"HPD thought the same thing so they looked into the story he told them to be sure, Mr Watkins definitely entered his code into the system at six PM like he said, which the RADAR company confirmed to HPD from their own records. Not only that but HPD checked the cameras from the shop opposite and they have footage from it of him entering the code and leaving, and the answer is no before you ask, the cameras suddenly stopped working around nine thirty and start up again thirty minutes later so HPD think that it must be during that time that the vans were taken so we can't use them to look into this. Not only that but it was apparently his son's birthday so they went out as a family for a meal and staff at the restaurant have confirmed that they were definitely still there between nine thirty and ten so I think he is in the clear and can be ruled out of being involved in this." She said, clearly reading what his next question had been.

"So, if the owner wasn't involved then that means that whoever did this not only managed to bypass a state-of-the-art security system but also the CTV camera network to turn the ones off which could identify them" Steve remarked.

"That is what it seems which means that one of the people involved has some serious computer skills to be able to pull that off. This security system is not the kind you can disable easily, especially without someone realising what was happening and someone would have realised because the security company who supply the service was open twenty-four seven with several men and women manning the system throughout the day and night. Their whole reputation is built up on them never slipping up and it appears they take their reputation seriously. They would not miss it a break in if it flagged up to them."

"It does make sense when you think about it" Steve said thoughtfully as he looked towards the abandoned white van. "If the kidnappers are the ones who are actually behind the abduction rather than merely a group of hired muscle then someone on the team would need to have enough skill in computers and software to know whether whatever it is Lowry was brought in to do for them was being done correctly. Otherwise Lowry could do something else and none of them would ever know the difference. We have to assume at the moment that whatever they want him for, it has something to do with his work. Something which requires his skill set only."

"The question is what do they want him for? What ability or knowledge does he have which they want so badly that they would do something like this? There are so many better and quieter ways to abduct someone, ways which wouldn't alert the authorities within minutes over what has happened. Whatever it was which was happening today was important enough to make them act. Maybe they thought that if they didn't take him now then they would lose the chance to get what they wanted from him?" She suggested with a slight shrug.

"Have a look into his past when we get back to headquarters Danni, not just the work which he did for the NSA but also anything which he had been doing since he left them. For all we know this has something to do with that portion of his life, we can't make assumptions." Steve stated.

"I can do that" Danni said with a nod. "It shouldn't be too difficult to find out what he has been up to since he moved to Hawaii."

"Good" Steve said, his eyes moving past her, watching as two medical examiners lifted one of the dead bodies onto a waiting gurney. "Did you speak to the medical examiner and find out anything on our two victims?" He queried, his eyes flickering towards her for a split second before flickering back in time to see the two medical examiners do the same thing to the second body. Danni twisted around, watching the same scene silently for a moment before she spoke quietly.

"Our two dead victims are Eli West and Lincoln Morris, both of them worked as bodyguards for a place called Bruddah's private security firm. The totalled SUV" She said waving her hand towards the wrecked vehicle "Is also registered to the same firm. No doubt Lowry rented the vehicle at the same time as he hired our two victims. I've spoken to the manager of the place, a guy called Austin Johns and he confirmed the booking, saying that Lowry had only hired West and Norris for the day so there must be something which was happening today which made Lowry nervous that he felt the need to hire two trained bodyguards to accompany him."

"Like you said before, the question is why? Why did he hire them? Did he know that he was in danger from something like this happening or was he just being overly cautious?" Steve remarked, pulling at his lower lip for a moment before looking around him again.

"It shouldn't be too difficult to find out once we get to his house and have a look around the place. If the information is going to be anywhere then its going to be there." Danni answered him. "What about you though? Did you manage to find anything we can use while I was on the phone?"

"A bit" he answered. "The bullets they used were SS-190 armour piercing rounds so clearly the kidnappers were expecting some sort of resistance when they came for Lowry. These rounds are expensive which means they were probably backed by someone who has cash to burn. Its not like you can just buy bullets like this in any shop which sells rounds either. The owners, by law, need to have a special license to be able to sell them on site."

"If that is the case then it will make things easier for us to try and track them. We can cross reference which gun shops in Hawaii do have a license to sell these and go and see them. My instinct is telling me that this wasn't a job done by a group of amateurs. It was way too clean and clinical for that. This is more the work of a group who know exactly what they are doing because they've done it together several times before in the past."

"I agree, speak to Chin and Kono and get them to look into that side of things. I want them to request surveillance footage from any of the shops who have sold this type of round recently. Tell them to go back at least a couple of months since we have no idea how long exactly they have been planning this for. A group like this should stand out so we should be able to spot them." Steve stated.

"Not only will they stand out in the footage but I would be willing to bet that those rounds don't sell at a great rate either which means that when they finally do sell the shopkeepers probably take notice of who bought them." Danni added.

Steve moved away from her, moving back to the SUV and hunched down beside the window screen. He reached out and touched it, frowning slightly before he looked back at Danni.

"You know it's interesting what you said about the security firm owning the SUV. It makes sense" He commented.

"What about it makes sense?" Danni questioned, sounding curious as she moved towards where he was and lowered herself down carefully so she was hunched beside him, her eyes following his gaze to the shattered glass. Steve turned and looked at her, twisting round slightly so he could grab her if she lost her balance before he reached and gently rapped his knuckles against the glass.

"This is density-layered ballistic glass laminated onto a shield of resilient polycarbonate" He told her, glancing back in time to see a smile curve her mouth. "What's so funny?" he queried.

"You" She replied simply. "You know, all you had to say was that the SUV had bulletproof glass, something which most civilians minus a few really paranoid ones wouldn't have on their vehicle but which a company, like a security company, would have as standard on their vehicles." She pointed out "You Steven McGarrett are a science show off" She teased him, her smile growing, producing dimples in her cheek before she turned serious, directing the conversation back to the job before he had a chance to respond. "The question we need to figure out is how the kidnappers knew that this SUV wasn't his and that it had bullet proof glass in the first place. If these rounds are as expensive and hard to get as you say they are then why waste them unless you knew that normal rounds wouldn't be able to get the job done? That means that someone had to tip them off that Lowry had hired the SUV in the first place and that he would be taking this route at this time to get to where he was going. All we seen to have at the moment is questions and little answers but maybe if we can figure out who was the one who tipped them off and why then we can start figuring this out."

For a moment Steve stared at her, hiding his surprise at her insight with difficulty. He was impressed despite himself, a feeling Steve was beginning to get used to experience around her. How her Captain back on HPD hadn't realised how skilled she was at her job was beyond him, but it was something he was extremely glad about as well. He still found it amazing how Danni treated him as well, back on his unit in the Navy they had followed his commands without a word of complaint or backchat, accepting that he had reasons behind the orders and that was it but Danni didn't accept his orders unless he explained his reasoning behind it to her first. It was a situation he wasn't used to being in.

"Excuse me, are you Commander McGarrett?"

Steve over his shoulder towards the unfamiliar male voice, squinting slightly in the bright sunlight as he pushed himself to his feet. The man in front of him looked to be a couple of years older than Steve was. He was tall, possible an inch or two taller than Steve and built as though he regularly did some training of some sort.

"Yeah I'm Commander McGarrett and you are?" He questioned.

"I'm Supervisory Special Agent Jack O'Connor with the NSA. I've been told that you're taking point on the Roland Lowry kidnapping case?" He answered with a questioning look.

Steve glanced towards Danni as she came to her feet as well, her hand absently smoothing down the front of her dress as she took a few steps forward so that she was beside him. He raised an eyebrow slightly when she remained silent, simply looking at him with a look which told him to continue taking the lead. Steve nodded slightly at her, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked back towards the other man.

"The Governor informed me on the phone earlier that the NSA had an agent here who they would send to assist us on the case? I'm guessing you're that agent?" Steve remarked after a brief pause, his voice coming out cool and expressionless as his eyes moved over the other man taking him in. He was dressed surprisingly casual for an NSA agent in a pair of worn dark blue jeans and a short sleeved black t-shirt. It looked as though he had just rolled out of bed, grabbed the first item of clothing he could locate and left without bothering to do anything with his short blond hair which was stuck up on end in different directions. He looked unfazed by the growing heat making Steve wonder briefly whether he had grown up somewhere which was hot and humid. "Let me see your ID badge" Steve stated, the tone of his voice making it extremely clear that he wasn't asking.

If the other man was surprised by Steve's demand for his badge then he didn't show it. Instead he simply shrugged his shoulders and reached into one of the pockets of his jeans, pulling out a thin well-worn leather case. The blond flipped it open with an ease which spoke of experience and held it out to Steve, an amused look on his face as Steve reached out and took it from him, scanning it carefully. It was definitely a genuine NSA ID badge. Steve nodded once before he passed it back to Jack who took it from him and then offered it towards Danni with a questioning look, shrugging and putting it away when she declined with a shake of her head.

"The answer to your question is yes, I'm the one your Governor warned you about. I was here to do a lecture at your police Academy when my director rang me and filled me in on the basics of the case before telling me to get down here." Jack commented as he looked around him. "I'm assuming the general thought at the moment is that Lowry was kidnapped due to the work he did while he was still with the NSA?"

"That's the general thought" Steve agreed. "At least for the moment. What would be helpful O'Connor is if we knew exactly what it was that Lowry was working on before he retired from your agency so we can either rule it our as a motive or begin to work that angle.

"That's not a problem McGarrett, I've been given clearance from the area director to discuss Lowry's work with you though not here." Jack replied with a firm note to his voice as he waved his arm around him to indicate the busy crime scene. "The information is classified and sensitive in nature so as you can imagine discussing it somewhere where anyone could overhear the conversation wouldn't be the brightest idea any of us have had." He remarked dryly, sticking his hands into his pockets. "It might be best if I leave you here and head back you your headquarters? That will give me some time to get my equipment set up so we aren't wasting precious time later on."

"What equipment exactly are you talking about?" Steve asked, feeling a frown come to his face.

"I need to hook up my laptop to your main hard drive so I can access the NSA database using your systems" Jack answered.

"That seems like the best idea" Danni remarked, finally breaking her silence before Steve could say anything. "There is a spare office in our headquarters which you can take as your own for today. If you need any help setting up the connection with the NSA mainframe then Chin will be able to help you with that, he's our resident tech expert on the team." She commented politely, a thoughtful look on her face as she watched Jack.

"Thanks, that would be helpful…" Jack's voice trailed off as he gave Danni a questioning look. Steve shifted slightly on the spot, watching the exchange between the two of them closely.

"I'm Detective Danni Williams, Steve's partner and second in command of the taskforce." She answered him simply. "If you need any further help then please feel free to ask any of us SSA O'Connor"

"Thanks, and please just call me Jack or O'Connor, adding in the SSA or Supervisory Special Agent part to it just makes it a mouthful." He told them with a rueful smile before he turned serious again. "Have you got the address for your headquarters so I can head back there. The quicker I get started the better our chances are for getting Lowry back alive."

"We're situated on the third floor of the Ali'iolani Hale building. You can type it into your GPS system in your car since I'm assuming you drove here, it should lead you there without any problems." Steve told Jack who merely nodded at him again.

"I've got it" Jack replied.

"I think that Chin is heading back there now from the look of it" Danni said suddenly before the NSA Agent could move away from them. Steve turned to her, watching as she raised her hand and waved Chin over to where they were. She glanced briefly at Steve, an amused look in her grey eyes before she turned her attention back to Jack. "He can help you set up your equipment and escort you around the building. Unless you have an HPD or Governor taskforce badge then you can't get in at present without an escort." She told him before looking at Chin as the older man came to a stop beside them. "Morning Chin" She said warmly. "This is Supervisory Special Agent Jack O'Connor from the NSA. He's been instructed to help us with our current case. Do you mind taking him back to Headquarters and helping him set up his link to the NSA database?" She asked.

Chin looked between the pair of them for a moment, hundreds of questions in his dark eyes before they flickered to Jack who stood waiting patiently as Chin clearly weighed him up, just as Steve had previously done before he finally nodded his head.

"That shouldn't be a problem Danni and also good morning to you." Chin said flashing her a wide smile before his turned his attention to Steve, turning serious as he did. "I've contacted the traffic centre and they are emailing me the footage from the surrounding street camera in the area. That one over there was facing the way of the incident so we should definitely have some footage which we can use to piece together exactly how the kidnapping went down this morning or at least confirm our suspicions over it."

"Good work Chin, keep us informed of anything you find which may be useful." Steve remarked with a nod at the native.

"You've got it Steve" Chin replied before looking back at Jack who stood quietly to one side, watching them all with a look in his pale blue eyes which Steve couldn't read. "Follow me" Chin commented before he turned and moved towards where the cars were parked outside the surrounding yellow tape.

"Right behind you" Jack responded over his shoulder, nodding at both Steve and Danni before he turned and followed Chin, his stride brisk and sure as though he knew exactly where he was going. Steve watched them go for a moment before he turned to look at Danni who was watching him closely.

"Something on your mind Danni?" He asked her mildly with a raised eyebrow.

"I just want to clear something up with you" She said, pressing her palms together as though she was praying and using them to point towards him. "That, right there with O'Connor was you being nice to someone?" She queried, an undercurrent of disbelief mingled with what seemed to be amusement in her voice.

"What about it? I was perfectly polite to the guy Danni?" Steve responded, hiding a smile when she dropped her hands and instead placed them on her hip with an unladylike snort. He was saved from hearing her thoughts on the matter by Kono who suddenly appeared at their sides

"Guys, I found Lowry's cell phone jammed under the front seat of the SUV, according to his phone log, the last call he made was at six thirteen this morning and it lasted for about four minutes."

"Four minutes" Danni repeated, tapping her finger against her lower lip thoughtfully before she glanced at Steve. "Didn't you say earlier that the Governor had told you that the kidnapping happened at six fifteen this morning? If that's right then it means that Lowry would have been in the middle of his call at the time of his abduction."

"That's what the Governor said when she called this morning to give us the case." Steve confirmed. "Who was Lowry speaking to at the time then Kono? Is it listed?" He asked the Rookie turning to look at her. Kono glanced down at the cracked screen with a slight frown before she looked up at him, her dark eyes moving between them both.

"Evan, who I think Chin said earlier was his son" She answered. Steve nodded slowly at the information before he turned to look at Danni.

"It looks like we've found ourselves a witness" He commented.

"What we've more likely found Steve is a traumatised boy who probably heard his own father being abducted, maybe even saw it if they were using that mode of talking." She responded before she turned to Kono with a smile. "Good job with that Kono, did you find anything else in the SUV? Lowry's briefcase or anything else he might have been using to carry documents in?"

"No, nothing else" Kono answered. "If he had anything on him when he was kidnapped then the kidnappers made sure they took it with him when they grabbed him. The phone must have been overlooked by them in the rush or they probably would have taken it as well."

"We need to find out exactly where Lowry was heading this morning and why" Steve said.

"Like I mentioned earlier Steve, I'm already one step ahead of you on those questions. The Bruddah's owner is just loading up his computer system and then he's calling me back with the location of where Lowry was heading today. Its their policy to take notes on everything like this so they know exactly where their men are at all times. The minute I know is the minutes that you'll know." Danni assured him. Steve smiled at her before he turned back to Kono, his face turning serious again.

"Kono I want you to head back to headquarters and see what you can find out from Lowry's phone. There's a chance that he might have used the calendar on it or received a text message or a call in regards to this. I want you to see if Lowry has any other relatives on the island other than his son. Maybe he has a wife or a girlfriend or a partner nearby. If you find them then contact them and explain the situation and get them down to headquarters. Lowry's son is going to need someone around who is familiar to him. You drove to the scene with Chin, earlier didn't you?" He asked her, suddenly changing the subject. Kono blinked at him in surprise before she answered.

"Yeah he picked me up from my house when you sent the text out." She explained.

"Chin's already heading back to headquarters so take my truck instead" He told her, fishing the keys out of his pockets and throwing them to Kono who snatched them out of the air. "Danni and I will finish off here and then we'll go and collect Lowry's son and bring him in for a talk. There's a chance that he might know what his father was working on and why he was taken."

"I got it boss" Kono responded with a nod. "I'll contact you both if I find anything." She said with a smile before she moved away from him. Steve breathed out turning to Danni.

"You ready to head off?" He asked her. Danni glanced around her before she focused her attention on him.

"I'm ready" She assured him.

"Good, in that case, let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	3. Shut up and drive

*************************************  
Friday 1st October 2010

Ala Moana Boulevard

Waikiki

Hawaii  
*************************************

"Okay then" Danni remarked casually with a quick look around them before her gaze focused on him as she shouldered her bag. "Let's get out of here."

"Let's" Steve said with a nod at her, taking a few steps towards the yellow tape surrounding the crime scene before he suddenly stopped, twisting around on the spot, his eyes moving over the crowds of CSU agents trying to locate the one who he had spoken to when he had first arrived at the crime scene. He frowned slightly when he couldn't see him straight away.

"What's wrong? You look like you're searching for someone?" Danni asked him curiously as she came to a stop next to him. He could feel her looking at him but didn't look back.

"I'm looking for the CSU agent who was working on the van when I first got to the crime scene." He responded, his face clearing slightly when he finally spotted him. The man was hunched down next to the SUV almost climbing into it, which explained how Steve had managed to miss him the first time around. He watched for a moment, his eyebrow rising when he saw that the man's mouth was moving though whether he was talking to himself or the small native woman who he had called Megan who had been working with him on the van earlier was harder to tell. "Hey" He called out loudly attracting several people's attention to him, including the one who he wanted. He nodded at him, lifting his hand and waved him over to him.

The man frowned slightly, climbing to his feet and said something to the woman who's head popped out of the van before he headed over to where Steve and Danni were standing, brushing his hands against the material of his jumpsuit as though he was trying to clean them.

"You have no idea what his name is do you?" Danni asked from beside him suddenly, attracting his attention. She tilted her head back and shook her head at him. "Don't you think Steve that maybe, just maybe, you should actually take the time to learn what each of them are called if we are going to be working closely with them? They'll be more likely to do us favours if you do" She stated, her tone light though Steve was sure that he could detect a slight disapproving look in her eyes as they met his.

"Do you know all of their names?" He retorted as he crossed his arms over his chest. Danni smiled at him.

"I know the name of all the uniformed officers on the force as well as the name of the Agents in CSU and all the Medical Examiner and their assistants" She replied simply before she turned to the man as he came to a stop by him. "Hey Ben" She said with a smile at him. "How are things? Are you good? I'm sorry I didn't return your call last week but you know how it is, criminals won't stop committing crimes however much I wish they would."

"I hear that Danni girl, I'm fine though, I certainly can't complain about the way things are going at the moment. What about you? Enjoying your new position on the taskforce." He asked her with a wide grin which she returned. Steve shifted on the spot slightly, his gaze fixed on Danni before he looked towards the man Danni had called Ben, surprised to find him looking at him. He spoke when his eyes met Steve. "You called Commander McGarrett" He remarked dryly.

"I did" Steve answered. "I've finished with both the van and the SUV so feel free to bring them back to your lab so that they can be taken apart like you wanted to. I'd like copies of the crime scene photos and the report as soon as possible please."

"Will do Commander, you should get the first of the photos within the hour. We need to get them back to the lab and get them downloaded onto the system, but once that is done we can email them to you. I'm assuming that you and your team are set up on the internal email system now?" He queried, his eyebrow quirking slightly as though he found what Steve said amusing.

"We are Ben" Danni replied with a nod. "They finally got us set up on it two days ago."

"Thar's quick for them, though somehow I get the feeling that you might have something to do with them being quicker than usual Danni" Ben said his grin widening. "I'll let the other people on my team know that you're all set up now though, I know there are a few left over reports from the Doran and Sang Min cases that they wanted to get sent over to you before you finish up the case with the DA."

"They would be good to have" Danni replied. "I'm sure that Ryan is probably already aware of the activated accounts but if you could mention it to the others then I would appreciate it."

Steve shot her a quick look at the mention of Ryan Moore, the head of CSU but she didn't look towards him causing him to frown slightly before he looked back at Ben as the other man moved on the spot, waving over a small group of people who were dressed in the same jackets as him.

"Guys, we're good to go with the vehicles, so let's get them transported back to the labs. Gabe, Maddison I want you to stay here and supervise the secondary team and make sure we gather all the evidence we can for the Governor's new team. Get whatever you can back to headquarters as soon as you can and speak to the boss man and see whether he can pull some strings and get these results fast tracked. There's a man's life at risk after all… though that's not exactly something new unfortunately." He said, ending with a rueful smile.

"We're on it Ben" The tall blonde man responded before the team dispersed, all of them clearly knowing exactly what they needed to do. Ben turned back to them and nodded once.

"We've got everything covered down here Commander. As soon as we find anything out, we'll contact Danni-girl on her cell phone and let you know." He assured them, something in his voice telling Steve that the other man was done with the conversation and wanted to get on with the job at hand.

"Thanks for that" Steve responded with a nod at him, taking a step towards where Danni must have parked her car before he stopped realising that his partner wasn't following him. He looked over his shoulder when he heard her speaking.

"You know I had been planning on calling you and finding out how everything was going with your new promotion but I think I may have just got my answer since it seems as though you've taken to it like a duck in water" She commented with an amused tone to her voice as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm guessing that being one of the senior field agents is something that you're enjoying?"

"Who wouldn't like it Danni?" Ben replied with a wide grin as he mirrored her pose. "I meant the job is interesting, the team Ry has given me is small but awesome and the extra money I get every month isn't exactly a kick in the teeth. The fact that I'm in Hawaii and the weather is good and I get to go swimming and surfing every day is just an added bonus and beats back home hands down."

"Danni, we've got to get going" Steve called out, interrupting her before she could say anything else. Experience had already taught him that when she got into a conversation she tended to remain in that conversation for a while. She glanced at him, brushing some stray hair away from her eyes before she gave him a single nod of acknowledgement looking back towards Ben.

"Duty calls" She said with a slight shrug. "But we'll catch up with each other later though, maybe go for a drink or something?" She suggested.

"Yeah I'm definitely up for that, I'll see you later Danni-girl, stay safe out there." He told her before he turned back to his crime scene and his team clearly dismissing the pair of them from his mind.

"Sorry about that Steve, we can go now." Danni commented to him touching his back briefly before she moved passed him, heading towards the car park and leaving Steve to follow her. "I'm parked over here" She told him over her shoulder as she weaved in and out of the working CSU agents, nodding and saying a quick hello to most of them though she didn't stop to speak to them which Steve was relieved over. He nodded his thanks at the Officer who held up the yellow tape for them to slip under before glancing around, his eyes landing on the silver Camaro parked nearby. A silver Camaro which he still couldn't quite believe was the car which belonged to his partner.

He changed his course and moved towards it, rolling his eyes when he saw Danni moved to the driver's side and unlock the door. She flashed him a knowing smile over the roof of the car before pulling the door open and slipping into the driver's seat.

Steve sighed, giving the surrounding area a final searching look out of habit before he climbed into the passenger seat, adjusting the chair to accommodate his longer legs before he pulled his seatbelt on, his attention fixed on Danni.

"Don't give me that look Steven." She told him firmly when she caught sight of his expression. "We've been driving together in this car for four days now, this being day five and I have told you every time we use it that you aren't driving my car yet. I'm not just about to change my mind just because you give me a look." She pointed out, Steve huffed in response, leaning back in the comfortable chair as she turned the key in the ignition before twisting round in her seat so she could look behind her, making sure the area was clear before she pulled out.

As much as Steve hated to admit it, he couldn't deny the fact that his partner was in fact a very competent driver. The only problem he had was the fact that she seemed to be allergic to the acceleration pedal.

Steve turned his mind away from Danni's driving skills and instead searched through his pocket, locating his cell phone and pulling it out. He glanced at the screen, raising an eyebrow when he saw he had a text from his cousin Tyler but ignored it, making a mental note to respond later and instead pressing on the number two button, bringing the phone to his ear and waited impatiently for the call to be picked up. It rang four times before Steve heard the familiar click of the call being connected followed by an already familiar voice.,

"Kelly"

"Chin, its Steve. Have you and O'Connor reached headquarters yet?" He asked, glancing at Danni from the corner of his eye when she leaned forward in her seat and turned the music which had been playing down.

"Yeah, we arrived back here about five minutes ago" Chin answered, attracting Steve's attention back to him. "Jack has brought his equipment up from his rental car and he's in the process of uploading his profile into our mainframe so he can access it. Once he's done that then he'll be able to connect to the NSA database using our system."

"So, we have an ETA on how long it will take for him to do that?" Steve questioned.

"I doubt it will take long since he seems to know what he is doing but let me check with him." Chin replied, his voice becoming muffled as though he was covering the mouth piece with his hand, Steve waited. "Right according to Jack, he says it will take about ten to fifteen minutes and then a further five minutes or so to get to the part of the mainframe which we're going to need."

"And when it's up and running we'll have access to the work which Lowry did while he was with the NSA" Steve asked, he could almost picture Chin nodding in his head as the other man answered him.

"Should be, as long as Jack has high enough security clearance to access the data. If Lowry was working on something which is above that clearance rating then we might be in a bit of trouble but Jack seems to think that it will be alright. So, we'll have to trust that he knows what he's talking about. He can always just call his superior who sent him here to gain higher access if need be."

"Good work Chin" Steve said, "That's not the reason why I'm calling you though, we need you to send us Lowry's home address. Danni and I are going to head over there now to pick up his son. Kono found Lowry's cell phone and it turns out that the kid was on the phone with his dad when everything went down this morning. He probably heard and saw everything. It wouldn't surprise me if the 911 call was from him as well."

"Poor Kid" Chin said sympathetically before his tone turned brisk again. "Just give me a second to log onto the HPD database and I'll let you know exactly where he lives."

"Sure" Steve said, glancing towards his partner when she suddenly hit the indicator and pulled to the side of the road, turning the engine off and leaning back in her seat. He caught her eyes, raising his eyebrow at her in silent question.

"There's no point in us driving around and wasting petrol for the sake of it. We might as well wait and find out where we're going first." She told him softly. Steve nodded as he looked away from her, a slight smile coming to his face. He knew she still held some doubts over whether the pair of them would be good as partners but Steve knew they would be, he had a strong feeling about it and he had learnt never to ignore that feeling when it happened to him. The fact that she could read his expression without him talking to know what he wanted pointed to that fact.

"Okay Steve I've got the address for you. Lowry lives with his son at 151 Dorian Avenue in Kahala" Chin told him.

"I've got it" Steve said, "Kono is on her way back to headquarters with Lowry's phone. I want to know everything that we get from the cell as soon as we get it okay? I'll text you when we're on our way back with the kid. See you later Chin" Steve hung up the phone and looked at Danni who was watching with a patient look on her face. "Lowry lives at 151 Dorian Avenue, it's in Kahala." He told her noticing the look of confusion which came to her eyes. "You know where that is right Danni?" He asked, watching as she remained still for a moment, her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly before she let out a frustrated sigh.

"No, not exactly." She admitted unwilling.

"You know, I happen to know where it is" Steve told her casually. Danni glanced at him for a moment searching his eyes as he continued. "I could have us there within ten minutes, time is of the essence here Danni after all." He pressed, hiding his triumphantly smile with difficulty when she looked away from him with a huff, reaching down and undoing her seatbelt.

"Fine" She said. "You can drive the car this once but it's only because I don't know where Lowry lives and we're already running out of time to find him. I'll be driving again on Monday, understood Steven?" She demanded, a firm note to her voice.

"Understood Danielle" He replied, taking off his own seatbelt and flinging the passenger door open, unable to keep the smirk off his face as he climbed onto the pavement and moved around the front of the car, passing Danni who rolled her eyes at him when she caught sight of his face. Steve climbed into the driver's side, quickly adjusting the seat so it was comfortable and looked around him. He could definitely get used to driving her car. "Don't worry Danni." He told her as he hit the indicator and pulled away from the kerb into the fast-moving traffic, smiling when he felt how the car reacted to the slightest of movements. "I'll take good care of your baby, it's safe with me."

"If you so much as scratch him Steven than I swear to god that it will be one of the last things you ever do on this planet." She promised him with a shake of her head, turning her attention to her phone when it beeped indicating she had a message. Steve glanced towards her.

"Is it personal or work related?" He asked her, nodding at the cell phone.

"Its work related" She replied sounding distracted as her thumbs flew over the keyboard, responding to whatever the message was.

"Care to share then?" Steve pressed when she remained silent.

"That was Kono" She told him, glancing up towards him. "She's just arrived back at the headquarters and given the phone to Chin and to Jack to crack since it has a passcode on it, it may take a while but they should be able to get into it. As soon as they are in then she'll go through the contacts on the phone and see if there is anyone on there who he speaks to regularly or not. She's going to check the names against the NSA database as well and see if anything pops up"

"If the phone was locked then how did Kono know that he had been on the phone with his son?" Steve asked in confusion.

"It showed the last call on the screen when she pressed one of the buttons. Chin had already passed on the information to her that Lowry had a son so it was easy to figure out, unfortunately his passcode isn't as easy to figure out" Danni answered with a shrug at him.

"Fair enough, we're about five minutes away from Lowry's house now" Steve told her, glancing towards her in time to catch her nod.

"You know it wouldn't surprise me if his house is built like a fortress" Danni commented. "I meant the guy worked for years with the NSA and he probably kept in touch with the people he used to work with even after he left. He probably has all the best state of art security equipment around on the market. It could be why the kidnappers chose to take him the way they did. They had probably already scoped out his house, realised that it would be almost impossible to kidnap him from there and that their only choice was take him when he was out and about."

"Why waste their time and their resources" Steve agreed. "Lowry is probably a man who likes to be in control of everything and control is one thing you can't have when you're out and about on the streets or in a car. There's too many variables to be able to plan for."

"I think we should take Evan back to the headquarters to interview him rather than do it at his house." Danni remarked.

"Why?" Steve asked him with a slight frown.

"Somehow the kidnappers knew where Lowry would be which means one of three things." She told him, using her fingers to count them off. "One, Lowry told them himself without realising who he was actually telling, or two someone told them for him which sort of links into point one. Or three, his house was somehow bugged and he didn't realise it was. I know that number three is unlikely but it's better safe than sorry especially when a kid is involved. Evan is a target whether he realises it or not. If his father doesn't do whatever it is they want him to do then they'll come for him next. Trust me, there is nothing a parent wouldn't do to keep their child safe." She told him seriously meeting his eyes. "And I mean nothing Steve."

Steve breathed out nosily at the comment before he nodded.

"I had the same thought as well." He admitted. "The kid will be safer with us until we sort out this mess out and find his father." He told her, pulling the car into a long driveway and parking up outside a large closed gate. Steve peered out of the window screen at it, taking in the two uniformed police officers. "We'll come back here after we've finished at headquarters, our first priority right now is the kid and to find out what he knows." He told Danni.

"Poor boy" She said sadly. "Only God knows what he must be going through right now." She said before she straightened her shoulders and climbed out into the hot sunshine. Steve followed suit, locking the car behind him before he walked to the two officers, both of whom stood to attention at his approach, their hands dropping to their gun belts in a clear silent warning.

"McGarrett with the Governor task force" He said to them, stopping in front of them and showing them his badge. "Has anyone other than us been there?" He demanded, taking his badge back. The older of the two Officers took in Danni's badge and checked it before he answered.

"No one yet Commander though we have spotted a black car with tinted windows drive by the end of the road about three maybe four times now. We haven't been able to catch sight of the license plate due to the angle of it,"

Steve glanced towards Danni who shot him a concerned look at the news.

"We're taking Lowry's son back to our headquarters" He told them.

"Fair enough, go in, the main door is unlocked as is the gate" The man said again, nodding towards the gates.

"Thanks Carl" Danni said to the man with a smile before she headed to the gate. Steve followed her.

"You know their names as well?" He asked as he pushed the gate closed behind them, his gaze roaming over the large house in front of them.

"They are uniformed officers, aren't they?" She remarked, sounding distracted before clearly relenting and continuing. "The older officer who spoke is Carl Nelson and the younger one is his Rookie Zevran Patel" She told him changing the subject before he could respond. "It seems that Mr Lowry was certainly not strapped for cash was he?" She smiled at him, touching him arm for a moment before moving past him and up the garden path towards the front door.

Steve looked around him for a moment before he moved after her, reaching the door at the same time as she did. He shot her a questioning look, smiling when she nodded at him before he reached up and knocked smartly on the door.

There was a moment's delay before they heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door. The door opened revealing a plump older looking woman of average height, she looked pale and worn out, her dark eyes reddened and swollen as though she had been crying continuously while her grey streaked dark hair was tied messily back in a bun.

"Yes? Can I help you with something?" She asked them, a shaky quality to her voice as though she was barely keeping things together.

"I'm Lieutenant Commander McGarrett and this is my partner Detective Williams." He announced, holding up his badge again so she could see them. "We're with the Governor's taskforce and we're dealing with Roland Lowry's kidnapping. We need to speak to his son Evan" he told her. The woman looked between them again, her eyes focusing on their faces rather than the badges. Steve saw her swallow hard before she gave them one jerky nod.

"Of course," she said. "Please both you come in" she stood back, allowing them into the hallway, closing the door behind them and turned to them. "I'll go and get him, he's in his bedroom. He's been in there since… since…" her voice trailed off, she glanced away from them for a moment as though she was composing herself before she headed towards the staircase. Steve watched her go before he turned to Danni and spoke softly to her.

"Find out who she is and then run a background check on the woman, I want to know everything about her. This could be an inside job as you said and she could easily be our inside mole."

"Leave it with me" Danni responded, bringing her cell phone out of her bag and beginning to type on it.

Steve looked around him taking in the hallway. It looked normal but Steve highly doubted that it was, there was no doubt security cameras were everywhere watching their every move. He glanced towards the staircase again when the woman appeared again, this time accompanied by a young boy who looked to be between the ages of twelve and fourteen. He was fairly tall for his age and skinny with a mop of straight brown hair and dark blue eyes. He looked shell shocked as he came down the stairs, gripping the bannister tightly in his hand before he stopped in front of them, looking at them both with eyes which looked unseeing.

"This is Mr Lowry's son Evan" The woman told them, wrapping an arm around the boy's shoulder clearly trying to comfort him.

"Hello Evan" Danni said, a gentle tone to her voice which Steve had only heard a few times before when Danni had been on the phone to her daughter while they had been in the car. "My name is Danni Williams, I'm a Detective with the Governor's taskforce. This is my partner Steve McGarrett." She introduced, waving a hand towards Steve.

"Are you here to find my Dad?" He demanded, an undercurrent of desperation to his voice.

"Yes, we are" She answered him simply, keeping her gaze fixed on him. "We understand that you were speaking to your father on the phone when he was taken this morning so what we're going to do Evan is take you with us back to our headquarters and speak to you there. We just want to see what you can remember about what happened."

"I don't remember much about it. It's like a blur to me." Evan admitted lowly, his shoulders hunching up in a defensive pose.

"That's fine Evan" Danni told him with a warm smile at him. "It's completely natural for that to happen when you've been through something traumatic like you have, I've been in the same situation myself and I know that everything about the event can take on a dream like quality and you just can't figure out exactly what is real and what is not real right?"

"Right." Evan said eagerly.

"You probably remember a lot more than you think you do okay? So, what we'll do now is head back to our headquarters and we'll ask you some questions, if you can answer them then that is brilliant and if you can't then that's okay as well" She told him, smiling when Evan nodded at her. "Oh, and Evan?" She commented, waiting until she had his full attention before continuing. "I promise you that Steve and I and the rest of our team will do everything in our power to bring your father home safely to you okay?"

Steve watched Evan search Danni's face, giving the boy a reassuring smile when his eyes flickered to him before Evan nodded, breathing out deeply as he stood up straighter, and squared his shoulder as though he was bracing himself for a blow.

"Okay then" He said, turning his head and looking to the woman who still had her arm wrapped around his shoulders. "Can Cacie come as well?" He asked hopefully.

"Cacie?" Steve questioned, looking towards the woman who nodded at them.

"I'm Cacie or rather I'm Acacia Donoghue. I'm employed by Mr Lowry as his housekeeper." She told them, licking at her lips nervously as her eyes flickered between them.

"That's fine" Danni said looking at Steve briefly before she turned her attention back to Evan who was looking relieved. "Our car is just outside the main gate Evan, the sooner we can get back to headquarters the better it will be.

"Okay, lead the way" He told them.

Steve turned and opened up the front door for them, heading out first, eyes scanning the area for anything which might have seemed suspicious or out of place. As far as he could see though everything was the same as it had been five minutes earlier when they arrived. They made their way down the path, Steve in front, Danni bringing up the rear with Evan and Acacia in the middle. Steve ushered them out of the gate, glad to see the two Officers standing to attention, guns in hand, ready for action if the need arose. Steve unlocked the car.

"Danni" He called out to his partner.

"On it" She called back, leading Evan and Acacia to the car and opening up the back seat, flashing them a reassuring smile as they climbed in. Steve turned back to the two Officers.

"We'll be back soon to look over this place. Keep it locked down. I don't want anyone going in or anyone coming out even if they have a badge. The only people allowed in this house are the people with a taskforce badge and anyone they bring with them okay?" He asked, looking at them both,

"Understood loud and clear Commander, no one in or out. We've got two more men stationed round the back entrance so we'll let them know as well."

"Good" Steve said. "Thank you for the assistance Officer Nelson, Officer Patel." He remarked catching the look of surprise on their faces as he turned and headed to the car, climbing in the driving seat before Danni could take the seat. He pulled on his seatbelt looking at Danni as she climbed into the passenger seat, shooting him an unimpressed look.

"Hey, if you know the way to the headquarters from here Danni then be my guest." He murmured to her, holding out the car key for her to take. He watched her eyes narrow slightly at his comment, before her gaze dropped to the keys. She looked away with an annoyed sound and put her seatbelt on.

"Shut up and drive" She told him.

"Isn't that the title of a song? If it isn't then it should be." He couldn't resist saying, smirking as he put the key into the ignition and turned it. "Keep an eye out for the black car with tinted windows. The older police officer mentioned seeing on past the main entrance to the street three or four times since they got there."

"Will do" Danni said.

"And vans, we don't want a repeat of what happened this morning."

"That right there my friend might be the understatement of the year so far." She commented, moving in her seat so she could see clearly out of the side mirror. Steve glanced round quickly making sure that Evan and Acacia had their seatbelts on before he started the car and pressed down on the pedal.

They had been driving in silence for around about five minutes when Danni's phone suddenly went off attracting Steve's attention from his thoughts. He watched as she fished it out of her bag and answered it, not bothering to check the ID screen.

"Williams" Steve waited for Danni to speak but she remained silent for a moment, clearly listening to whoever it was who rang her. "Yeah? And you're sure about that?" She asked. "Is it good enough to get a hit or is it only a possibility?" She questioned. "Okay, good work hon, I'll let Steve know. Bye." She stated before she hung up the phone, throwing it back into her bag.

"Let me know what?" He asked her quietly. Danni glanced at him, shaking her head slightly at him with a look of warning.

"I'll tell you later on" She murmured back, turning her attention back to watching the roads carefully. Within minutes Steve was parking the Camaro in the parking space which Danni had claimed as her own on their second day and both of them were climbing out. "Come this way please" Danni said, opening the back door for Acacia and Evan and leading the pair of them towards the building entrance. "We just need to get security passes for you both and then we'll take you upstairs." She instructed them.

Steve closed the driver's door, looking towards the road with a frown when he saw a back car with tinted window slow down outside the parking entrance before it quickened again. There had been no licence plate.

Steve turned to Danni, breathing a silent sigh of relief when she saw her disappear with their two charges into the building.

Somehow, he was getting the feeling that Danni's hunch had been right and Lowry's son was now a target.

Something which meant bad news for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for taking the time to read! Its much appreciated!


	4. Is there anything you can tell us?

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Friday 1st October 2010

The Ali'iolani Hale Car Park

Ali'iolani Hale

417 King Street

Honolulu

Oahu  
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Steve moved across the car park and up the shallow stone steps, flinging open the door to the building and looked around him cautiously, his eyes lingering on every corner in the large, open space of the foyer. There was no one in reception other than the people who he expected to see there. Evan and Acacia were talking to the two security officers behind the reception desk while Danni stood away from them slightly, watching them both with a thoughtful look making him wonder what she was thinking.

Steve moved towards her, stopping by her side and spoke quietly.

"I just saw the black car that Officer Nelson mentioned to us back at the house. It went past the car park entrance while you were leading Evan and the housekeeper into the building. My guess is that they were staking out Lowry's house from a distance and started following us when they saw us put them in the car and drive away." He told her. Danni nodded glancing up at him, a look of apprehension in her eyes.

"That's concerning." She said, turning her attention away from him to look towards the desk. Steve watched as her worried look disappeared into a reassuring smile when Evan looked up from the form he was completing to look at them both. She waited patiently until the young boy looked away again before she turned her focus back on Steve. "Are you positive it was the same car that the officers described to us? Or could it just be a fluke and a similar looking car?"

"It was black with tinted windows and it slowed down outside the entrance as though it was scoping the place out, it wouldn't surprise me if they've parked nearby the building right now." He told her, watching as she breathed out, her mind obviously jumping to the same conclusions which his mind had jumped to. She glanced back towards Evan for a second before focusing back on him.

"The question now we need to ask ourselves is who are they after? Are they after Evan or are they actually after Acacia or is it the pair of them they want or does it not matter which one it is at all?" She said as she crossed her arms over her chest, she remained quiet for a second, her mind clearly going over everything before she spoke again. "Did you manage to see the licence plate on the car? We might be able to trace it if you did."

"I wasn't at the right angle to see it and by the time I moved they had sped off." He admitted. "I do know that the car make was a Lincoln."

"That should help us narrow it down slightly at least" She said, her tone brightening slightly. "There won't be many of that make of car on the island. We could easily find out how many people own one and how many of them are black in colour."

"We could" Steve said. "We could also use the surveillance equipment in the buildings opposite. They were at the perfect angle to see the licence plate of the car."

"Chances are it's been stolen like the vans were, but a Lincoln is a fairly expensive make of car, so we might get lucky and find out that the owner has camera at their house as part of their security system. I know that Duncan has some and I have some at my place as well so it's not uncommon for people to have them these days" She said. Steve glanced towards her quickly at the mention of her ex-husband, his eyes narrowing slightly but she didn't expand on the comment further. "At least we know that Evan and Acacia are safe and under surveillance for the moment. If they do leave here then we'll have to make sure that one of us goes with them for extra protection. We should probably contact HPD and ask them to send some additional uniforms to the area as well."

"We'll send Kono with him" Steve answered instantly. "She can stay with the kid. She's a hell of a fighter so she'll be able to deal with anything which might happen." Danni nodded, tilting her head to the side and fixed him with a look which seemed almost puzzled, though she remained silent, looking away from him. "Hey, what was that look for?" He asked her, lightly grabbing her elbow at his hand. "Do you think I should send someone other than Kono with them?" He questioned. Danni frowned slightly before she shrugged at him, opening her mouth to speak when one of the security guards raised his voice slightly.

"Detective Williams? I just need your signature on the bottom of these forms and then you're good to go. You can take these two anywhere within the building as long as your make sure they are accompanied at all times by a member of your task force."

Steve reluctantly let go of Danni's arm, watching as she moved away from him heading over to the desk. She smiled at Evan and Acacia before turning her attention to the guard, taking the pen he was offering her and signing the papers.

He looked away from the scene, focusing his attention on the doorway with a slight frown. Evan wouldn't be able to return to his house, not when it was now considered a crime scene which meant that Steve would have to try and figure out where else they could keep him. Their headquarters was out of the question. The kid had been through enough for one day, witnessing his father being abducted, without having to sit and watch a bunch of strangers delving into every aspect of his father's life, uncovering the man's secrets. Perhaps HPD had a safe house which they could use for the time being while this case was ongoing. He would have to speak to the Governor and see about establishing a safe house of their own, one which only the four of them would know the location of for when situations like this arose.

"Steve?"

Steve blinked, looking away from the door and focused his attention on the small group nearby, his eyes flickering between Acacia and Evan noticing the passes which were now around their necks before he focused on Danni who was watching him with a questioning look.

"Yeah I'm ready" He called back, heading towards her. "Take them to the elevators Danni and wait for me there. I'll be with you in a moment" he told her. She looked briefly confused by his instructions before she shrugged, for once not arguing the point with him. Instead she turned from him to Acacia and Evan and smiled.

"Follow me please" She told them, leading them through the barrier towards the lobby lifts. Steve watched them for a second before he moved to the security desks and spoke to the guards.

"I want you to keep an eye out for a black Lincoln make car with tinted front and back windows. If you see it in the cameras or it enters the premises and parks up then I want you to call up to me straight away okay?" He stated, looking at them both and waiting until they nodded their agreement at him. He nodded back at them, glancing over his shoulders at the door before he headed over to where Danni was waiting. She glanced towards him before she leaned forward and hit the call button. A moment later the elevator doors slid open and the four of them stepped in, keeping silent as they travelled up to the third floor.

"Its this way" Danni said quietly to their two guests, leading the way out of the elevator and down the corridor. She pulled the door open, ushering them in before sharing another quick look with Steve as she stepped in, Steve right behind her. He looked around him out of habit, thankful that the place now looked like the up and running headquarters of an active task force. All the boxes which had been littering the place for the week were gone and the last of their equipment had finally been delivered and put away in the correct place.

"Danni?" He said quietly, waiting until she looked towards him before he looked at both Evan and Acacia making a quick motion with him hands to indicate that he wanted them separated from each other. Danni gave him a single nod and a slight smile to show that she understood what he meant, before she turned back to Evan and Acacia, both of whom were looking around them with wide eyes, clearly taking everything in.

"Come with me and I'll show you where you can sit" Danni remarked, leading them away from the main area of the room. Steve watched as Danni placed Evan at the table nearest to the kitchen with a comforting smile and a brief touch on his shoulder as she said something to him before she led Acacia into one of their spare offices, ignoring the bewildered look the older woman shot her. Steve waited until Danni had closed the door before he waved her back over to him, heading over to the main computer table in the centre of the room where Chin and Jack were standing.

He came to a stop next to Chin, watching as Danni moved around the table so she was standing next to Jack, opposite to Steve before he spoke.

"What have we got so far?"

"Nothing yet" Chin answered. "The surveillance footage from the street should be with us any moment now. We're going to use the NSA database facial recognition software on the footage to see if any of people in it flag up."

"Do you think they'll flag up?" Steve said with a raised eyebrow.

"They should do" Jack responded for Chin, looking away from his laptop and focusing his attention on them. "After 9/11, the software we used was all updated and expanded. If you have a record, even if its for something as mundane as a speeding ticket then you're on the database. A group like the one who Lowry are bound to have records and warrants on them which means that they will show up in our search."

"What if they aren't American" Danni asked

"The nationality doesn't matter in this case" Jack told her, turning his attention on her. "This network is linked to other networks across the world including the big agencies like Interpol. If they have a record anywhere and I mean anywhere, then we will know about it."

"Okay run the footage against it as soon as it comes in, we might get lucky and one of them may have showed their faces without realising they did" Steve said, crossing his arms over his chest as he glanced towards the computer screen for a moment before looking towards Chin with a questioning look. "Where is Kono? She messaged Danni to say that she was back here."

"We unlocked Lowry's phone so she went through it and found someone we could contact" Chin told him. "She thought it was either a wife or a girlfriend. She mentioned that you had asked her to find them and to bring them back here so she's gone to meet them to do that. She has her cell phone on her if you need to contact her about anything."

"No, that's fine. Its good that you guys managed to crack his keycode." Steve said, turning to Jack who had turned his attention back to whatever it was that he was working on. "Could you have all the information on Lowry's case ready for when we return? Danni and I are going to go and speak to the son and see what he can tell us." He stated. He watched both Chin and Jack look down towards the end of the room where Evan was sitting, his body slumped down in the chair as he stared blankly at his hands. Steve swallowed at the sight, he could well imagine what was going on in the boy's mind at that one moment in time.

"Excuse me please" Danni said, moving away from them and heading down the room towards Evan. She stopped by him, hunching down so she was on level with him and said something to him, attracting his attention. Whatever she said to him caused a shaky smile to come to his face as he nodded at her. She touched his shoulder lightly again before she stood straight, heading out of the doorway at the back of the room which led towards the kitchen area. Steve turned his attention back to Chin.

"Chin, I want you to get the surveillance footage from the buildings across the street from as well and go through them. We were followed here by a black Lincoln make car with tinted front and back windows. The two Officers stationed at Lowry's residence reported seeing the same car as well. I want the licence plate of it and I want to see whether there is any way of us finding out the identities of the driver and anyone else who was in the car with him or her."

"I'm on it" Chin said, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. Steve nodded at him and Jack before he turned and moved towards the table where Evan was sitting, his gaze flickering up passed him when the door behind Evan reopened and Danni emerged from it, holding a can of soda in her hand. She placed it in front of Evan and took the seat next to him and waited. Steve came to a stop by them and perched himself on the edge of the table, watching as Evan reached out for the can and opened it, taking a long sip of it before he put it back on the surface, keeping his hand wrapped around it as though holding it brought him some comfort.

"Evan" Steve said softly, waiting until the boy looked up at him before he continued. "Have you got any idea where your father was going this morning? Did he mention anything to you at all?" He questioned. Evan searched his face for a moment before he shook his head.

"No, not really. I mean he might have done, he often told me where he was going to be if he went out but I was only half listening to him you know? I had a big test and I was studying for it and I wanted to watch a TV program and…"

"Hey it's okay Evan" Danni said, interrupting the boy with a smile. "No one is blaming you for not knowing okay."

"Okay" Evan said shakily, his hand tightening on the can of soda.

"Do you remember anything your Dad might have said in passing to you? Something which probably didn't even seem all that important at the time, like a throw away comment over dinner or something similar?" Danni asked him, tilting her head to the side. Steve looked away from her, twisting himself on the table so he was in a better position to see Evan's reactions. Evan looked deep in thought, eyes moving side to side as his finger tapped nervously against the side of the can.

"He… he did tell me that Cacie would be waking me up today for school. I couldn't be late for it because I had that big test I had been studying for first period. Normally my Dad gets me up every day because he works from home but he said… he said that he had a big meeting this morning so wouldn't be there to do it today. Does that help?" he asked Danni who nodded at him with a wide smile.

"Yeah that helps a lot Evan" She told him with a nod. Evan looked relieved, taking another sip of his soda, his eyes flickering towards Steve for a moment again before he looked back at Danni when she spoke. "Did he mention anything about what the meeting could have been about?"

"No, nothing like that" The boy answered with another shake of his head. "I mean we never really spoke about his work, it's… it's complicated the stuff he does and he didn't want to talk about it and the truth is I didn't want to know, you know? I'm not into computers like that. I just want to play games on them but Dad was all about the stuff behind the games. They're his life you know?"

"Yeah I can understand that" Steve said, glancing at Danni when she moved forward in her seat before he continued speaking. "Evan can you think of anyone who would want to hurt your Dad in anyway? Maybe you overheard him having an argument over the phone recently or maybe people who you didn't recognise had come to the house to see him?"

"Hurt my Dad?" Evan repeated, his face whitening at the thought. "No, no I mean why would anyone want to hurt my Dad?" He demanded. "He's never hurt anyone, I'm telling you my Dad is the most boring guy you'll ever meet, and he doesn't do anything if there's a chance of trouble or danger. He says it's not worth the risk."

"These are just routine questions Evan" Danni told him, reaching across and covering his hand with hers briefly. "I know they are difficult to hear but we have to ask them. The more we know, the more we can help him okay?" She asked, taking her hand away when Evan nodded at her. "Okay then, so you haven't heard your Dad argue with anyone recently?"

Evan breathed out nosily, reaching up and running his hand through his hair as he nervously licked his lips. He remained silent for a moment before he spoke.

"I… I heard my Dad arguing with someone over the phone about a week or two ago. It was something to do with his work or at least I think it was. He kept using all these technical terms and phrases that I didn't get but he was getting heated up over whatever it was the other person was saying to him and that was pretty unusual. My Dad is the calmest man you'll ever meet, he doesn't get mad, and he doesn't even raise his voice most of the time."

"Do you remember what day it was that he made the phone call Evan?" Steve asked.

"It was on a Wednesday" Evan replied instantly. "I remember because it was the day of my soccer practice and I got home early from it. I don't think he even knew that I had overheard the conversation. He was always private about things like that even with me."

"Thank you, Evan," Danni said sharing a quick look with Steve. "You've mentioned your Dad a bit but where is your Mom? Is she currently at work?"

"My Mom?" Evan repeated, his shoulders hunching over slightly as though a sudden weight had dropped down on them. "My Mom died when I was seven, it's just me and my Dad." He said quietly, looking away from them to stare to the side of him.

"I'm so sorry Evan" Danni said, her voice equally as quiet, her tone sad. Steve glanced at her, touching her back and giving her a questioning look. She smiled at him, leaning back in her chair and nodded once at him to show him that she was okay.

"All right Buddy" Steve said, waiting until Evan looked back at him before he continued. "Your father had two men with him in the car he was in earlier, two bodyguards who he had hired to accompany him for the day. Do you have any idea why he would do that? Was it a normal thing for him to do when he was going out to meetings?"

"No" Evan answered, sounding shocked and confused. "Bodyguards? Are you… are you sure?" He asked.

"We're sure" Danni answered, Evan shook his head, slumping back in his seat.

"No, he's never hired bodyguards before as far as I know. I can't believe this is happening to us." He said, sounding lost as he looked up at them. "I mean why exactly is this happening to us? Who took my Dad?" He demanded, a frantic note coming to his voice. "This could be the last time I ever speak to my Dad and what did I do? I called him a Dictator because he rang me to wake me up? A Dictator? God what if he really thought I meant it? I can't take what I said back can I?"

Steve swallowed hard, clenching his teeth together as fragments of his last conversation with his own father, came to his mind, torturing him. He almost jumped when he felt a small hand on his knee, squeezing gently on it. He glanced down meeting Danni's eyes for a moment, taking in the sympathy and compassion in her gaze before she spoke, taking her hand off of his knee as she turned back to Evan.

"Evan, I want you to listen to me okay?" She said leaning towards him. "Your Dad knows you didn't mean it when you called him a Dictator okay? Please don't think even for a second that he did. What did he do when you called him that?" She asked him. Evan stared at her for a moment before he reached up and shakily rubbed at his eyes.

"He… he laughed when I said it" He answered after a brief pause. "He acted like he found it funny or something."

"Would he have laughed at it if he had truly thought you meant it?" She asked him, smiling when Evan slowly shook his head. "Well there you go then. He knows you love him so try not to think about it. I know that it easier said than done but it's the truth. Your father knew you didn't mean it."

"How do you know that though?" Evan demanded, a look of hope coming to his eyes.

"Because I'm a mother myself and we know this sort of thing, parents know when their children mean something they say and when they don't. It's wired into our DNA or something" She told him. Evan nodded slowly.

"Okay" He said, breathing out slowly before he spoke again. "Okay and… and thank you."

"Evan?" Steve looked up from Danni to see a tall blond woman hurrying towards the table. She was dressed casually in a pink shirt and a pair of jeans. He glanced at Evan as the boy surged to his feet and hurried over to her, hugging her tightly when he reached her as she continued to speak. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry baby I can't believe this is happening. I want you to come and stay with me okay?" She told Evan who nodded at her, taking a step back and moving back to his seat, retaking it. The woman sat in the free one next to him, gripping his hand tightly. "They'll find your father Evan, everything is going to be okay, trust me."

Steve glanced towards Kono as she came towards them, he nodded his head towards the door which led to the outer corridor. He touched Danni's back lightly to indicate her to follow as well before he climbed to his feet and headed out of the door, holding it open for them before he spoke.

"Who is she exactly" He asked, nodding his head towards the woman who was leaning forward in her chair and hugging Evan again.

"Her name is Natalie Reed" Kono answered, following his gaze. "She's Roland Lowry's girlfriend, she told me on the way over here that they have been dating each other for just over a year now."

"That would explain why Evan is so comfortable around her" Danni remarked.

"Where did you find her exactly?" Steve asked the Rookie, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited for her to answer him.

"Her number was the only number in Lowry's phone other than Evan's who he constantly rang and received calls from. From the records on his phone they spoke to each other at least once a day and when they weren't speaking they were texting. It was pretty obvious from some of those texts that they were a couple." Kono said as she looked between them. "I gave the number a call and she picked up. I told her who I was, asked what her relationship to Lowry was and then explained to her what happened and asked her to come in. From her reaction it seems that she had no idea he had even been taken."

"Did she know of any reason why someone would want to kidnap her boyfriend?" Steve questioned, frowning when Kono shook her head.

"She says she has no idea. She told me that he's a quiet guy who preferred staying in and watching a movie then going out for a night on the town. She said she knew nothing about his job either, all she knew was that it had something to do with computers. I got the feeling that Lowry didn't discuss his work with her."

"Did she say how they met each other?" Danni asked curiously.

"She said they met at a charity benefit last year" Kono answered. "Though she can't remember what charity it was for. They were seated next to each other at the table, started talking and that was that" Danni nodded at the answer, a thoughtful look coming to her face as she crossed her arms over her stomach.

"What is it Danni?" Steve asked her. He had seen that look more than once on his partner's face and each time it had been because Danni's mind had picked up on something which he had missed or overlooked.

"It's probably nothing" Danni said with a shake of her head. "It's just… check out her story and have a look into her background and see whether everything in her story adds up. Also have a look into Lowry's records and see what charity benefit it actually was and whether it was something which Lowry attended regularly." She asked the Rookie, smiling when Kono nodded at her.

"I can do that Danni, it's not a problem" Kono stated with a warm smile of her own.

"Kono" Steve said looking away from Danni. "I want you to go with Natalie and Evan to her house and stay close to them. If this is a kidnap and ransom then I'll need you there to set up the trace for the phone for when they call. I know from your records that you came top in that section during your time at the Academy so it shouldn't be a problem for you." He said, smiling when she nodded.

"I can handle it" She assured him.

"We brought the housekeeper in as well, Acacia Donoghue. We left her in the office for the time being. I want you and Chin to talk to her and see if she knows anything. If she is their housekeeper then she was probably one of the few people who knew what was happening in their house. Do that before you leave with Evan and Lowry's girlfriend." He instructed further.

"You've got it boss" She said, turning and making a move to go back into the room.

"Kono" Danni said, stopping Kono. "We're just going to run down some leads and then I'll come to Reed's house and relieve you from babysitting duty okay? There's no way in hell you're going to miss out on your own graduation if I can help it. The after-party celebrations alone are worth not missing it." She commented with a smile which Kono returned.

"Thanks Sis" Kono said warmly. "It's cool though, the case comes first like Chin says."

"I'll still try" Danni told her. "Case or not you shouldn't have to miss this, not with all the hard work you've put in to graduating in the first place."

"Hey" Chin said, walking up to them with a small tape in his hand which he lifted up for them to see. "CSU just delivered the footage from the security camera for me to see. I'll have a look through it now and see exactly what went down this morning."

"Good, get O'Connor to scan it into his system as well and see what he can get from it. We might as well use him and his resources while we have them. If you find anything then call okay?" Steve told Chin who nodded at him. Steve glanced towards Danni when her cell phone went off. She fished it out of her bag, her eyebrow rising at the number before she looked at them.

"Excuse me please" She remarked, moving away from them. He heard her answer her phone before he turned his attention back to Chin.

"Speaking of O'Connor how is it going with him?" He asked.

"Honestly?" Chin asked continuing to speak when Steve nodded at him. "The guy has been really helpful, he's been explaining to me the sort of work which Lowry did while he was at the NSA and it sounds to me that whoever kidnapped him may have easily been after that knowledge."

"What was he doing there?" Steve queried.

"I don't know exactly, he only gave me a brief overview because he's been waiting to brief you and Danni in detail about it, but it had something to do with Cyber threats against the US and how to prevent them." Steve raised an eyebrow at Chin before he looked at Danni as she hung up her cell and made her way back to them.

"That was the owner of Bruddah's security firm. He's found the information about where Lowry was heading this morning before he was kidnapped" She stated, looking between them.

"Where was he heading?" Steve demanded.

"Hickam Air Force base" she replied. "I'm assuming you know people there who we can talk to about it?" She asked him, smiling when he nodded.

"Yeah" he replied thoughtfully before he turned to them. "Chin, I want you and Kono to speak to the housekeeper now. I need you to make sure that you don't allow Evan and Lowry's girlfriend to leave yet, I want Kono to stay with them. Danni, you and I are going to speak to O'Connor to see what it was that Lowry was actually doing. There might be a direct link between what he was working on and why he requested the meeting at the air base. After that we'll go down to Hickam and see what we can find out from them. Chin when you've finished the interview focus on the tapes. Everyone know what they are doing?" He questioned, looking around them. "Good" He stated when they nodded. "In that case, let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read! An especially big thank you if you've left a comment or some Kudos, it means a great deal!


	5. It would be carnage

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Friday 1st October 2010

The Governor Taskforce Headquarters

Third Floor

Ali'iolani Hale

417 King Street

Honolulu

Oahu  
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Danni Williams's Point of view  
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Danni breathed out slowly, reaching up and rubbing tiredly at the back of her neck. She could feel the beginning of a headache growing behind her eyes and was swiftly concluding that her choice to wear a dress that day may have in fact been a bad idea. She should have changed into a pair of jeans when Steve had told her over the phone earlier that they had a case but she had held onto the hope that things would turn out for the best. In future she would have to ask Steve what sort of case the Governor had actually given them. She had hoped that it would be a simple case but it was anything but simple, there were NSA agents involved, suspicious girlfriends and god knows what else they still had to find.

Something wasn't adding up with it all but she couldn't figure out what it was. It was there in her mind, teasing away at her, telling her that she had the answer but every time she thought she had it, it would simply slip away from her.

"Danni are you coming in or are you planning on staying out here in the corridor for the rest of the day?"

Danni blinked, glancing up at Steve and meeting his eyes for a moment, searching them before she nodded at him.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm coming" She told him, moving towards him and ducking under the arm he was using to hold the door open for her. She looked around her, scanning the area taking everything in. Chin and Kono were moving across the room towards the room where Danni had stored the housekeeper, they were talking quietly together, no doubt discussing their strategy for the upcoming interview. Lowry's girlfriend was still sitting at the table with Evan, her arms wrapped round his slim shoulder as the young boy stared down glumly at the table surface, his hands still wrapped around the can of soda which Danni had given to him earlier. She sighed at the sight, her heart going out to him, she couldn't imagine what was going through his mind at present time but she doubted whether any of the thoughts were good.

God, she hoped they found Lowry before it was too late.

She glanced around as Steve lightly grabbed her by the arm and began pulling her in the direction of the computer table where Jack was standing before he let go of her, giving her an unreadable look over his shoulder. Danni nodded at him to show him that she was on the same page as he was before he came to a sudden stop when Lowry's girlfriend quickly overtook them and planted herself in Steve's path. Danni stopped beside him, glancing towards him to see his reaction. He seemed unruffled by the woman's actions though Danni could tell from the slight furrow marring his forehead that he was wondering exactly what she wanted.

"Yes?" He remarked calmly, glancing back at Danni with a questioning look in his eyes when Lowry's girlfriend remained silent, seemingly content to simply block their path and to look between the pair of them, her blue eyes sharp and searching before she finally spoke.

"I'm Natalie Reed" She announced to them. "I'm Roland's girlfriend. Look I think when you consider everything that's apparently has happened today that I've been remarkably patient but I want to know exactly what is going on here. I got a call from one of your Officers while I was at work, asking me personal questions about who I am and what my relationship with my boyfriend is like, before I was told to meet her somewhere because she needs to bring me here because Evan was going to be here and he would need a familiar face. Then when I finally get here I find out from Evan that Roland was kidnapped this morning in broad daylight. The Officer who came to meet me said that both of you were in charge of the task force so I want to know right now what exactly is happening. Have you found Roland yet? Is he safe? Do you even know whether he is okay?"

"I understand that you have a lot of questions which you want answered Ms Reed" Steve remarked, his eyes flickering to Danni for a moment before he focused his attention back to the tall woman. "But there is nothing which we can tell you at present time other than the fact that we are looking into this case and that we will do everything in our power to find Mr Lowry and to bring him home safely to you and Evan. If there is anything though which you think may help us in our investigation then now is the time to tell us of it. Any leads can help."

"I wish there was something which I could tell you which would help you but I can't think of anything. Roland never spoke of his work to me or to anyone as far as I know. He was… is a very private man preferring to keep things close to his chest." She told them, quickly correcting herself. "I can't believe that you have nothing at all though. You've been working this case since he was taken right? You must have some leads? Something which will bring him back?" She pressed.

"As I said there is nothing which we can discuss with you yet. I'm sure you can understand that since this is an ongoing case." Steve repeated.

Danni slowly uncrossed her arms as she caught sight of an expression crossing the other woman's face, an expression which she would have described as unease or irritation if she had to name it, an expression which was almost instantaneously replaced with the distraught look which Danni would have expected to see considering the situation the woman was in.

Biting down on her lower lip, Danni made a mental note to herself to look into Natalie Reed's background the moment she found herself with a few minutes spare. There was something about the other woman which wasn't sitting right with her but she couldn't quite figure out what it was, all she knew was that she had a bad feeling about her which was slowly growing the more she spoke. She looked the woman up and down quickly, noticing that she was clearly in good shape. The sort of physical shape which someone achieved through constant training of some kind but what training that was, Danni didn't know. Perhaps the training was a requirement of her job though Danni couldn't think of many jobs outside of the military, security firms or the police which would require that level of fitness.

Danni tilted her head slightly, listening carefully when Natalie began speaking to them again, rubbing her hands together as though she was nervous though it seemed almost rehearsed to Danni, as though Natalie was playing a part and playing it so hard that she was beginning to over act it.

"I'm sorry, I really am, I want to be more help to you but I just can't think straight right now, all my thoughts are jumbled in my head. All I can think about is the fact that Roland is out there somewhere with god knows who. I can't understand why all of this would happen or why anyone would have any reason to take him the way they did. He is a good man and he's a good father, I've never even seen him hurt a fly. There's no reason why anyone would do this. Maybe they've got the wrong man or something, maybe they meant to take someone else and it's a horrible case of mistaken identity. I mean that is a possibility, right?"

"It's a possibility but it's unlikely" Steve commented blandly.

"What you're experiencing right now is not uncommon given your circumstances. Most people ask exactly the same questions as you when they find themselves in this sort of situation." Danni remarked quietly, searching Natalie's face closely when she turned her attention onto her. "I know that this is difficult and you want answers but right now you need to listen to us. We know what we're doing and we have experience in dealing with it. Like my partner has already told you, all of us in the task force will do absolutely everything that we can to bring Mr Lowry home to Evan and we won't rest until we have everyone who is involved in his kidnapping in custody."

Danni's felt her eyes narrow slightly when she detected the same flicker of unease she spotted earlier crossing Natalie's eyes. Unease which made little sense it the circumstances unless the other woman was hiding something from them. Something which she didn't want them finding out.

"Well I hope you do find them all Detective and that you bring Roland home safely to us." Natalie said in response, glancing over their shoulders towards the table where Evan was still seated, looking lost in his own world before she focused back on them again. "I have no idea what Evan would actually do if anything happened to his father. The two of them are extremely close and have been for all the time I've known them both. I've always put it down to the fact that Evan's mother died when he was young. It's always just been the two of them before I came into the picture unless you count Acacia of course. A second loss like that, well it would devastate him, I doubt he would recover from it."

"As I said before Ms Reed, we are looking into this and rest assured we will find answers and find the person responsible for this." Steve assured her, a reserved note in his voice as he nodded towards Natalie and moved to the side of her, clearly attempting to sidestep her so he could continue making his way to the computer table where Jack was waiting for them.

"I really do appreciate that" Natalie said, taking a step to the side again so she was once again blocking his path. "However, my responsibility is to Evan and making sure that he is okay and right now I think the best thing for him is for me to take him back to my house." She told Steve, her eyes flickering between them in a way which made it clear that her comment was directed towards the two of them. "He needs to be in an environment he's familiar with and not in a place that he doesn't know. He's been around my place several times and has even stayed there in the past. I'm guessing that his own home is going to be out of bounds to him for the foreseeable future?" She questioned, a probing tone coming to her voice.

"You can take Evan back to your house shortly but not yet." Steve answered. Danni shifted on the spot as she caught the annoyed undercurrent to his voice which he was hiding beneath his professional tone. "I'm sending a member of my team with you when you go, they'll be staying with you but they are currently in the middle of an interview, when they are ready they'll come for you so please go and sit with Evan and wait for them." He told her, his tone making it clear that he expected his command to be obeyed. "Now if you excuse me Ms Reed, my partner and I have leads we need to follow, every second counts as I'm sure you can appreciate."

"I appreciate your offer Commander McGarrett but Evan and I will be fine by ourselves at my place, whoever wanted Roland has him now. Why would they try and come after me or Evan when they already have who they wanted?"

"To use as leverage" Steve replied simply. "Not only that but there's a chance that whoever took him will contact you or Evan to make a ransom demand. I want one of my people to be there with you in case that happens. They can help you by walking you through the proper things to say to the kidnappers when they call and they will also be able to set up a track and trace on the call. Until that time, please stay seated." He nodded at her once again before he moved passed her, towards the computer table.

Danni glanced at her thoughtfully, smiling when Natalie turned to look at her.

"Please let one of us know if you or Evan need a drink of something." She remarked politely before she headed after her partner, glancing back over her shoulder to see Natalie staring down at the floor, one hand curled into a fist at her side before she clearly forced herself to relax it, straightening herself up and setting her shoulders before she headed back over to Evan.

Danni frowned, looking back to the front and coming to an abrupt stop when she realised that Steve had stopped moving and she was about to collide into his side. She tilted her head back, opening her mouth to rebuke him when he spoke, beating her to the punch.

"What is it?" He asked her, the question catching her off guard.

"What is what exactly?" She questioned in confusion, raising an eyebrow when Steve sighed in response, his eyes flickering up to the ceiling for a moment as though he was silently asking for something before he looked back down at her.

"You have this expression on your face." He announced, keeping his voice down as he waved his hand towards her head before dropping it to his side as he continued speaking. "And every time you get that look on your face Danno its because there is something which you have seen or heard which has struck a chord and is bothering you. So, do us both a favour and tell me what it is about this case which has caused that look or is it something to do with your personal life in which case tell me what so you can get it out of your system and focus back on the case."

"Why are you always so interested in my personal life Steven?" She questioned back, placing her hands on her hips and fixing him with a stern look which he returned with interest. She met his gaze for a moment before she huffed, throwing her hands in the air as she looked away and silently admitted defeat. "No, it's not about my personal life, its something about the case."

"Okay then" Steve said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "What is it about the case which is bothering you? Is it the way he was taken? The fact that it's been a couple of hours since he was taken and the kidnappers still have made no attempt to contact anyone with a ransom demand? Is it his girlfriend? Something about the man himself? Talk to me Danni."

"I don't know" Danni replied, holding up her hand in a classic stop sign when Steve opened his mouth to speak, a stubborn look coming to his face. "I mean it Steve, I honestly don't know what it is yet. Yes, there is something about the girlfriend which bothers me but I can't figure out what it is about her which makes me feel that way."

"Okay, what is it exactly which has triggered it? She must have done something which has set this off even if you don't quite know what it is about her." Steve pressed, reaching out and placing his hand on her shoulder.

"She just seems remarkably calm for someone who has literally just found that their boyfriend of a year has been taken and then there is her insistence of taking Evan back to her place alone. Most people in this situation would be grateful to know that a cop was going with them and would be able to help them and support them but she just seemed frustrated when you continued to insist on it. I don't know whether it means something and perhaps I'm reading into it because I know that the way she is reacting is not the way I would react if I was her. Perhaps this is her way of coping, perhaps underneath it all she's screaming in her mind and wanting to pull her hair out but doesn't want to show Evan that she is suffering as well but I don't know and that is the truth. I just don't know yet, all I know is that there is something about her setting off my instincts."

Steve looked at her for a moment, searching her face before he took his hand from her shoulder and ran it through his hair instead.

"Danni" he remarked, causing a slight smile to come to her face at the way he said her name. It was a mixture of emotions, the predominate one being a frustrated, questioning tone which had flavoured the single word.

"Yeah, I know Steve, you hate when I can't give you a simple yes or no answer when you ask me a question. I understand that I do and I wish I could give you want you want but this is one of those times when I can't. I need to start running a background check on her but it will have to wait because right now we need to go and speak to Jack who is still waiting for us. We're beginning to run out of time Steve and I really don't want to be the one who has to tell Evan that his one remaining parent is dead because we were wasting time discussing something which may not even be an issue instead of focusing our attention on finding his Dad."

"Okay, we'll leave it for now though I don't agree that this isn't an issue, something has set you off and I don't believe that it would have unless there was something to it." He said before he turned and finished his journey to the computer table, speaking again when she caught up to him. "Look into her thoroughly though Danno, find out whether she is who she says she is and give Kono a heads up on your thoughts as well. I'd rather our Rookie went in there knowing that there was something potentially up rather than leaving it to chance."

"I'll speak to Kono as soon as I can and as soon as you can spare me for five minutes or more I'll look into Natalie as well, researching is one my specialties after all so I should be able to do it fairly quickly using the systems we have available to us" She replied with a smile at him.

"It seems to me that your specialty changes on a daily basis Danni" He answered, a warmth to his voice which made her smile widen at him.

"Well that would be because I am a multi talented individual Steve but now its time to focus" She stated to him, her expression turning serious as she looked away from Steve and instead looked at Jack, watching him closely as Steve spoke to him.

"So, what exactly can you tell us about the work which Lowry did when he was still with your agency O'Connor?" Steve asked, his voice turning brisk as he leaned his hands against the table, pushing against it slightly in a way which Danni knew would have earned him a disapproving look from Chin if he had been with them. Jack glanced up from the screen he was working on, his pale blue eyes flickering between the two of them as he spoke.

"I can tell you quite a bit." The blond man replied, typing something onto the keyboard of his laptop before he nodded towards the large screens set up above the computer table. "According to his work files, Lowry's main area of work for the NSA was focused on Cyber threats which were made against the US. Especially cyber threats which would debilitate the military in any way. He was convinced that there was a way of being able to shut down every piece of technological machinery as long as you had the right key to do it with. He was pretty vocal about it while he worked there, telling anyone who would listen to his ideas about it. It didn't exactly make him greatly popular with the main bosses as you can imagine since they normally like stuff like this to be kept quiet."

Danni frowned, reaching up and tugging thoughtfully on her lower lip before she spoke up.

"Okay, so for the few of us who aren't experts when it comes to technology, what exactly do you mean?" She asked. "You mentioned technological machinery but what do you mean by that? Are you talking about combat drones?"

"That is one example Danni" Jack responded with a nod. "But it would be so much bigger than just the combat drones. Lowry was literally talking about every piece of machinery which used a chip or which relies on electricity or computers to run it or provide it with any sort of information. So, you're talking about cell phones, computers, power grids, traffic lights, intensive care units. All the things which you as an individual may rely on for your every day life, the ones which are so embedded into your routine that you don't even think about using them anymore. Lowry always drummed it home that people were so reliant on technology that they wouldn't know how to function without it. You take them all out for even a short time and the results would be carnage on a massive scale. People will die and there would be no way of dealing with it because the emergency services are just as reliant on technology as the people are. The only way around it would be a master key which would override it or the person who had the original key turning the system back on. This doesn't even need to be an all out black out. The person with the key could pick one particular machine or area to switch off. Lowry said that the key would have the ability to turn whatever you wanted off one at a time. The people who had it could use it any time they wanted and no one would know about what they had done until it was too late to act."

Danni swallowed hard, remaining silent as she thought about the image that Jack had described. She had been working in New Jersey one day when there had been a temporary black out and it had possibly been the worst day at the job which she had experienced. It was certainly not something which she would want to relive if she had the choice. She glanced at Steve when he spoke, breaking the silence which had descended between the three of them.

"You said earlier on that Lowry main point of focus was the military?" He asked, waiting until Jack nodded at him before speaking again. "Do you mean the repercussions to the military if this key was ever created by someone?"

"Yeah" Jack responded with a nod.

"Could you tell us about that?" Steve questioned, raising an eyebrow when Jack shook his head at them in response.

"How about instead of telling you about it, I simply show you it instead" He said, looking back down at his screen and typing while he spoke. "Lowry made a virtual simulator to show people what could happen if the key was made and ever put into play. I guess he wanted to show the big bosses exactly what he was talking about and what the consequences of it would be. It clearly made an impression on them because they kept it in the database." Jack commented as he pressed on the enter button before nodding towards the plasma screen. "See for yourselves."

Danni turned to look at the screen, raising an eyebrow as it was filled with a bird's eye view of an aircraft carrier before the camera angle changed, rushing towards it, moving past the area where the air crafts were landing and into the main area of the ship, through corridors filled with talking personnel until they ended up in an area filled with radars and screens which Danni took to be the bridge.

She felt a slight smile come to her face as the sight of it all, knowing that her younger brother Chris was no doubt stationed on one of them at that moment in time since she knew that he was currently on deployment.

Her smile disappeared when the radars and the screens on the simulation suddenly started to flicker and flash before they all went black. The bridge lights were out as well, leaving them in complete darkness before the screen lit up in a faint red light. Lighting the scene enough that Danni could see the panic on the faces of the officers and personnel. She blinked when the screen suddenly split in half, showing the outer deck again just as a fighter plane crashed onto the deck, sliding out of control, taking out both people and planes before it erupted into a fireball which seemed to engulf everything.

Danni stared at the carnage, blinking when the image suddenly stilled.

"As you can see Lowry didn't exactly hold back when it came to making this simulation" Jack remarked, standing straight with a serious look on his face. "That was just the damage caused to one aircraft carrier in a matter of minutes, it doesn't take much to imagine what it would do to the fleet if it was unleashed at the same time on them all. The military would be crippled possibly beyond repair in a short time frame."

Danni bit down on her thumb nail, still staring at the screen, her thoughts wandering to her brother before she forced herself to focus back on the case. She glanced at Steve, surprised to see him watching her with a look of concern before she focused on Jack.

"Did the people who Lowry made this for pay attention to his warning?" She asked.

"Unfortunately, I've got no idea, the record doesn't give any account on what happened in that meeting or what their decision was in regards to what he told them" Jack answered with a shrug. "What I do know however is that Lowry left the NSA a week after they had that meeting. He didn't even work out his notice period. He just left his desk one day and never returned to it. The next thing anyone really knew was that he was living here in Hawaii with his son and that he had handed in a resignation letter."

"If that key was ever made and then got into the wrong hands…" Steve began to say, his voice trailing away as he ran his hand through his hair again, his eyes moving side to side as though he was imagining what would happen if it did.

"Then we would be in a world of trouble with no real way of getting out of it. If this key is now a real thing then we need to make sure that it doesn't end up in the wrong hands. Some countries would sell their souls for the chance to obtain it." Jack stated calmly.

"But if Lowry knew the risks attached to making the key then surely it would mean that he wouldn't make it just in case it did get into the wrong hand." Danni said, her heart sinking when Jack merely shrugged his shoulders with an uneasy look.

"I've never worked with Lowry on a project but the man was considered a legend in the cyber area of the NSA. He was known for taking an idea and not being able to let go of it, regardless of the risks, until he was able to prove his theory. There's a chance that he left the agency because they wanted him to move away from the idea and onto something new and he just wasn't quite ready to do that. If he couldn't let it go and he made the key to prove his point then we might have the exact reason why someone would kidnap him. Either they want the key or they want the man who they somehow found out could make it for them and they will force him to make it."

Danni nodded, her stomach sinking as she looked over her shoulder to where Evan was still sitting, God only knew what would happen to him if something happened to his father.

"Chin is going to go through this morning footage from the crime scene and also some footage from outside this building. We were followed on our way here so I want to know the details on that car. When he gets it could you run it through your software and see what you can find out about it and about this morning?" Steve asked. Jack raised an eyebrow at Steve, looking vaguely amused by the request.

"You know my Director made it pretty clear that I was only meant to give you a history on Lowry's work and then leave." He commented lightly, crossing his arms over his chest, a smile still lingering around his mouth. "But I guess since I'm already here and haven't packed up yet then I'll help you. If you get me those tapes then I'll do what you've asked me to do, if there is anything on those tapes then I will find them. Just do me a favour and maybe keep that off your reports. NSA are a bit protective over their system and what they are used for." He remarked, his half smile breaking into a grin. "I'll also start searching into the type of work Lowry was doing here in Hawaii and see whether our theory was correct and he has made the key. If I find anything then I call you on your cells."

"That sounds good." Danni said before Steve could say anything. "Will you need our cell phone numbers?" She asked, frowning when he shook her head at her.

"I've already got them." He told her with a nod before he looked back towards the screen, his smile disappearing into a focused look of concentration. Danni glanced at Steve when he lightly grabbed her arm and gave it a tug, indicating without words for her to go with him.

"We're heading to the air base now." He remarked to her. Danni nodded, watching as Steve looked around him, his eyes narrowing for a moment before he looked back at Jack. "O'Connor, do me a favour and keep an eye on Lowry's girlfriend and his son. Don't let them leave the office regardless of what they might say without them having Kono with them."

"You're beginning to owe me one with all these favours you're asking for." Jack comment mildly as he glanced up and looked passed them to look at Natalie and Evan before he nodded. "But I'll keep an eye on them for you and I'll stop them from leaving if Kono isn't with them." He assured them with a nod,

"Thanks for the help Jack, we appreciate it" Danni told him with a smile as she picked her bag up and shouldered it. "We should head out now."

Steve nodded at her and turned, giving the area a final long look before he headed over to the entrance and out into the corridor. Danni gave Jack a final smile before she headed after her partner, her mind going over the case as she made her way towards the elevator.

The fact that they hadn't discovered Lowry's body yet was good news since it meant that he was probably still alive and was currently hidden somewhere on the island. There were only two reasons she could think of for that. Either Lowry hadn't given them what they wanted yet or he was still in the process of doing it. Hopefully taking as much time as possible to do it to give them time to find him.

Danni glanced towards Steve but he was too busy staring at the elevator doors with a frown on his face which made her wonder what he was thinking. Shaking her head, she stepped into the elevator when the door slid open and hit the button for the ground floor. Waiting in silence until they were stepping out again and heading across the foyer towards the door. She was aware of Steve stopping by the guards but ignored it as she stepped out onto the building and onto the front steps. Her gaze moved to the car park entrance looking for any sign of the black Lincoln which Steve had mentioned but there was nothing, just a simple empty street.

"Ready?" Steve asked, touching her back as he moved passed her down the steps. Danni nodded, heading after him, her eyes narrowing when she saw him moving towards her car, pulling out the key from his pocket and unlocking it before he climbed into the driver's seat.

"Oh God" She murmured to herself, realising with a sinking feeling that she had forgotten to take her keys back from him when they had arrived. She sighed, closing her eyes briefly, before she headed to the passenger seat and pulled the door open, climbing in and shutting it behind her, resisting the urge to slam it with difficulty. She looked across at Steve, rolling her eyes at the smug expression on his face as he twisted the key in the ignition. "Don't think that this" She stated as she waved her hand between the two of them. "Is going to be an everyday occurrence because I'm telling you now that it won't be. I'll be back in the driving seat very soon"

Steve's smirk widened at her.

"If you say so Danno" He commented with a shrug before reversing the car out of the parking space causing her to roll her eyes again.

Today was going to be another long day, she could just feel it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read!
> 
> Its much appreciated.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for the support!


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